Michael Grady landed jobs at both Amazon Prime Video and NBC for the NBA’s new media rights era. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ play-by-play announcer wasn’t supposed to end up working for both networks. He figured he’d be happy getting one offer after his contract with ESPN expired.
Instead, he’s calling games for both.
Grady told Brandon Contes on the Awful Announcing Podcast that the arrangement works because of scheduling. NBC’s Peacock games air early in the week. Amazon’s Prime Video games come at the end. There’s enough space between them that both networks agreed to share him.
“I think it might not be as uncommon in the future,” Grady said. “Although we’ll see how my situation goes, and they may go, ‘Okay, we’re never doing this again.’ But, I just feel awfully fortunate.”
The path to double duty started with ESPN giving Grady a one-year contract last season. He knew the league’s massive new rights deals would shake up the broadcast market when they kicked in this fall, which meant free agency was on the horizon. ESPN helped establish him as one of the next wave of NBA voices, but the network’s reduced game inventory under the new deals meant limited opportunities moving forward.
ESPN has Mike Breen, Mark Jones, Ryan Ruocco, and Dave Pasch. With fewer games to work with, there wasn’t room for Grady to grow into a bigger role.
So he talked to Amazon. Those conversations went well. Then he spoke with NBC, which leaned into nostalgia in its pitch. Grady loved the people at both places and didn’t want to say no to either after months of negotiations.
Then his agent called with news that required sitting down.
“Any time your agent is telling you, ‘You’re not going to believe this,’ you should probably sit down,” Grady said. “I just think it’s the nature of it worked out because of the nature of how this schedule is going to work out, and the fact that NBC Peacock games are at the beginning of the week, and Amazon games are at the end of the week.”
Had it been ESPN and Amazon, or ESPN and NBC, the schedule wouldn’t have worked. ESPN’s Wednesday games would’ve created conflicts with Tuesday Peacock broadcasts or Friday Prime Video games. But with NBC and Amazon splitting the week, both networks looked at the calendar and decided to make it work.
Grady’s rise has been steady rather than sudden. He started as the Indiana Pacers’ PA announcer from 2010-17, then spent five years with the Brooklyn Nets on YES Network as a sideline reporter before landing the Timberwolves job in 2022. He won an Emmy in 2023 as the best play-by-play announcer in the upper Midwest.
His work with analyst Jim Petersen earned him respect across the NBA, not just among Wolves fans. TNT gave him his first national game in March 2024 when he called Mavericks-Kings with Greg Anthony. Turner had previously featured him on NBA TV, establishing him as someone worth watching.
The timing of ESPN’s one-year deal turned out to be perfect. Grady got national exposure during the final season before the new rights deals kicked in, then hit free agency exactly when Amazon and NBC were staffing up their operations for an 11-year commitment.
Amazon made Grady its lead WNBA voice and added him to its NBA rotation alongside Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, and Eric Collins. NBC slotted him as its fourth play-by-play option behind Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle, and Terry Gannon. He’s scheduled to work with Grant Hill when NBC’s coverage ramps up.
“As someone who grew up with a deep passion of this game, and loving this game, and trying to learn as much I can, and continue to learn as much as I can and try to share that passion, constantly thinking about the young, the 10-year-old, the eight-year-old, who just loves the game and adores these players,” he said. “That’s who I think about when I call a basketball game.”
He knew he could handle one network. Both still haven’t fully registered. Once the season gets rolling and he settles into game mode, the reality might sink in. But right now, he’s just trying not to pinch himself too hard.
“I didn’t have to tell someone no,” Grady said. “Incredibly appreciative.”
Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Michael Grady beginning Thursday, Oct. 23. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.