After already featuring Michael Jordan and Bob Costas, the NBA on NBC continued giving basketball fans all the ‘90s feels with a Marv Albert cameo.
Time will tell whether NBC’s rekindled relationship with the NBA proves to a mutually beneficial one. But in their first month back from a 23-year hiatus, NBC has delivered on its promise to embrace nostalgia. And Albert’s Tuesday night cameo was just the latest example.
Marv Albert narrates the open for NBC’s broadcast of 76ers-Celticspic.twitter.com/KCsFPfzQYl
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“If you’re a basketball fan of a certain vintage or if you appreciate the legends of this game, then you, like me, are excited for tonight,” Albert began as he narrated the open for Tuesday night’s NBA on NBC broadcast of the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.
Yes, it was just the open, at 84 years old and nearly a half decade removed from calling a game, Albert isn’t going to do play-by-play for NBC. But those narrated opens are special. And it was great that they had Albert in a studio for it rather than just recording something from home.
Aside from the occasional radio interview, Albert has largely stayed out of the spotlight since retiring from the NBA on TNT and his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in 2021. But just as it convinced Michael Jordan to comeback in some capacity and already featured Bob Costas during an open last month, the NBA on NBC continued to play the hits by luring Albert out of retirement for one night.
As much as Albert is known locally for being the longtime voice of the New York Knicks, he’s remembered nationally for being the NBA on NBC’s lead announcer for most of the 1990s. And with NBA on NBC seeking to appease basketball fans by tastefully incorporating as much ‘90s nostalgia as they can, Albert’s eventual cameo was necessary. With Jordan, Costas, Jim Fagan, John Tesh’s Roundball Rock, and now Marv Albert already involved, maybe Ahmad Rashad will be next.