TNT has not yet decided exactly how it will replace Marv Albert and Chris Webber on its biggest NBA games, but the network has added a top-notch game analyst for the upcoming season, The Post has learned.
After leaving the booth to coach the Pelicans for one season, Stan Van Gundy is returning to TNT, according to sources. The 61-year-old will look to build on his rookie season as an in-game analyst in 2019-20, during which he shined – particularly when teamed with Ian Eagle.
Van Gundy also will appear on NBA TV as a studio analyst.
At the end of last season, the 80-year-old Albert retired and Webber walked away before the playoffs. TNT is now TBD on how it will replace the duo.
Turner may not anoint anyone to the No. 1 spot this season and instead could go by a committee consisting of Eagle, Kevin Harlan and Brian Anderson.
Eventually, TNT probably will want to make it clear who its top team is, so as to not be outshined by ABC/ESPN’s marquee booth of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson.
Turner’s top events are opening night, the All-Star Game and the conference finals, which Albert always worked. For years, Albert made them feel bigger.
For opening night of the NBA season in mid-October, Harlan and Eagle are expected to be on the call. Anderson will be in the midst of the MLB playoffs, where he is Turner’s lead MLB play-by-player.
At one point, when David Levy was running TNT, the network had planned for Anderson to replace Albert. It was impressive maneuvering with Harlan and Eagle on TNT’s roster.
But Jeff Zucker now heads TNT’s coverage, while Lenny Daniels remains under Zucker, as he was with Levy. When Zucker took over for Levy in 2019, the Albert-Anderson succession plan was scuttled, though Anderson still remains a candidate.
TNT could also have Harlan and/or Eagle on its biggest games.
As for Webber’s replacement, TNT has Van Gundy, Reggie Miller, Jim Jackson and Grant Hill. It also uses Greg Anthony on occasion.
Miller has worked with Harlan for years, while Jackson and Anderson have formed a solid team. Hill sounded his best working with Eagle during the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
The makeup of the TNT’s NBA schedule in the fall will be different than in past years, as it will feature its top games on Tuesday so to avoid going head-to-head with Fox’s Thursday Night Football.
After the New Year, it will feature games on Tuesday and its traditional Thursday night.
as a coach but he's still an elite Basketball mind and a treasure on the mic.
