Amazon will begin coverage of the NBA next season and they have already made some amazing decisions, including reportedly hiring Blake Griffin.
According to The Athletic, the former No. 1 overall pick and six-time NBA All-Star will co-host a studio show for Prime Video. He will be joined in the studio by a former NBA Finals and NBA MVP with Dirk Nowitzki also on the show.
Prime Video has an 11-year partnership with the NBA. The studio show is based in Culver City, Calif. on the Amazon MGM lot.
“I’m unbelievably excited to join the Amazon family,” Griffin said in a statement. “Basketball has obviously been a huge part of my life, and I consider myself a true fan of the game. I’m excited for a new opportunity to share some of what I have learned over the years with other NBA fans. I have been incredibly impressed with Amazon’s NFL programming for Thursday Night Football, and my conversations with the team around the NBA partnership have been equally inspiring. I’m honored to be a part of this launch and a new era for Prime Video sports.”
Taylor Rooks, who has done incredible work with Turner Sports, will host the program. Ian Eagle, one of the best broadcasters in the game, is the lead play-by-play announcer for the network. It is unclear who else will join him in the booth.
“We are thrilled to have Taylor, Dirk, and Blake on board as the foundation for our NBA studio coverage,” added Jared Stacy, Global Head of Production at Amazon. “Together they bring a mix of credibility, charisma, and unique insight on the game that will inform and entertain NBA fans starting this fall. Taylor is one of the most well respected and thoughtful people working in NBA media today, while Blake and Dirk are legends of the game ready to share their insightful analysis and sense of humor with NBA fans.”
All in all, this seems like a great start of hiring decisions for Amazon. But with the Inside the NBA crew getting syndication on ESPN, fans should feel particularly excited about Griffin’s arrival to the scene.
He will have plenty of connections around the league as he only recently retired. But he is also genuinely hilarious and could have had a career in entertainment independent of his athletic prowess, evidenced by his various stand-up comedy sets and roast appearances over the years.
Griffin takes this very seriously, appearing on comedy podcasts and late-night talk shows. He was brilliant on Comedy Central’s Broad City and he was hilarious during a live read of Space Jam.
He has worked with a wide range of brilliant comedians, including Norm McDonald and Eric Andre. Griffin founded a production company, Mortal Media.
Amazon reportedly wants Griffin to play a Charles Barkley-like role for their show and he has the chops to do it.
