Former NBA champion and 14-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki is expected to launch his broadcasting career by joining Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of the NBA beginning in the 2025/26 season, according to Dallas-area insider Marc Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that Nowitzki and Amazon are nearing a deal.
Having long broadcast its games on ABC/ESPN and TNT Sports, the NBA will welcome two new television partners next season, when Amazon and NBC join Disney (ABC/ESPN) as the league’s media rights holders, replacing TNT. Amazon and NBC have both begun the process of hiring play-by-play and color commentators for their game broadcasts.
As Andrew Marchand of The Athletic wrote earlier this week, Amazon previously agreed to hire Ian Eagle and make him its top play-by-play announcer, but has yet to hire any game analysts. Marchand identified Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, ESPN’s Richard Jefferson, and Stan Van Gundy as a few potential targets to watch for the streaming giant.
Since retiring as the most accomplished Maverick in franchise history in 2019, Nowitzki has been laying relatively low, having not immediately transitioned into a role as a coach, front office executive, or broadcaster. The Hall of Famer reportedly rebuffed interest from good friend Steve Nash to join his coaching staff in Brooklyn in 2020 and then was named a special advisor by the Mavericks in 2021 when Dallas was seeking a new head coach and general manager.
Nowitzki spoke this past summer about his interest in working in basketball, but made it clear that he wasn’t looking for a coaching job. Instead, it appears he’ll go the broadcasting route.
NBC has reportedly agreed to hire Jamal Crawford as a game analyst and is expected to have Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle as its top two play-by-play men. Both Amazon and NBC figure to make several more hires before they begin their NBA broadcasts next year.