Current:Home > FinanceDwyane Wade's Olympic broadcasts showing he could be future of NBC hoops -Elevate Capital Network
Dwyane Wade's Olympic broadcasts showing he could be future of NBC hoops
View
Date:2025-04-15 16:57:36
Dwyane Wade is going to be one of those analysts who some will hear and love, and others will hear and want to mute the sound. When Wade and play-by-play partner Noah Eagle called the Olympic men's basketball game against Serbia earlier this week in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Wade kept using this joke about LeBron James: "I know him personally, his pronouns are he/him." Wade couldn't let the joke go and repeatedly used it and repeatedly annoyed.
Wade was roasted online. He's still being roasted over it. But it would be a mistake to tune him out for that. It would be a mistake to tune him out, period.
Wade watches the game the way we do. There's a genuine excitement and giddiness to his broadcasts. Almost a John Madden-like quality to his presence. He's a basketball goofball who takes his job seriously but not himself.
During Team USA's 103-86 win over South Sudan on Wednesday, the former Miami Heat star, when talking about how one of the South Sudan players likes to do nothing but shoot, joked: "He doesn't see anything but the basket."
Later, Wade described a hot-shooting James: "LeBron got that look. LeBron got that look, man."
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
Yes, sometimes the banter between Wade and Eagle is a bit too loose. And, yes, Wade’s a blatant James homer because they are close friends. But something big is happening with this new broadcast team.
Maybe it’s too early to say this. Maybe it’s even ridiculous to state it. But as a nerd who has been obsessed with sports broadcasts for decades, Wade is already one of the most entertaining color analysts I’ve ever seen. He's not perfect. Maybe pairing him in the future with a more cynical analyst would provide strong balance. What's clear is that NBC has something with this duo.
This comes just in time for NBC. Assuming Wade wants to continue broadcasting beyond the Olympics, he'd be a perfect analyst for the network as it re-enters the NBA universe.
There are a number of terrific analysts (and often women who do the work like Doris Burke and Candace Parker don’t get mentioned enough as great talents) but it’s genuinely shocking to see Wade step into this role with such ease, and perform like he's been doing it for decades.
The fact Wade is pleasant and expert aren’t the only reasons why he’s so good. It’s how he distributes what is an extensive, Hall of Fame computer bank level of knowledge to the viewer without condescension. This is a much trickier thing to do than people realize.
Broadcasts, especially now, are full of analysts who want to let you know how expert they are. They can’t wait to tell you. They grab you by the collar and say: hey, let me tell you how awesome I am at doing this job. Then they will tell you again tomorrow. Then tell your family and then your dog.
Wade is a broadcaster who is so confident in his expertise, he doesn’t feel the need to bash you over the head with it. He knows he's an expert. We know he's an expert.
I’ve been critical in the past of broadcasters like Eagle, who got their start because of their last name (his father is longtime broadcaster Ian Eagle). This type of thing is problematic because it excludes opportunities for people who don’t have well-known last names, especially women and broadcasters of color.
That doesn’t mean Noah Eagle isn’t good. He really is. One of the reasons Wade shines is because of Eagle. He allows Wade to be Wade.
Their chemistry is really hard to ignore. It's like watching hoops with two friends: he and him.
(Sorry.)
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
veryGood! (393)
Related
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Canelo Álvarez defeats Jaime Munguía by unanimous decision: Round-by-round analysis
- Inter Miami vs. New York Red Bulls: How to watch Messi, what to know about Saturday's game
- Will Taylor Swift attend the 2024 Kentucky Derby? Travis Kelce spotted arriving
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- A truck driver is accused of killing a Utah police officer by driving into him
- Bernard Hill, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings Actor, Dead at 79
- You'll Love These 25 Secrets About The Mummy Even if You Hate Mummies
- Small twin
- Investigators say student killed by police outside Wisconsin school had pointed pellet rifle
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Inter Miami vs. New York Red Bulls: How to watch Messi, what to know about Saturday's game
- Trump Media's accountant is charged with massive fraud by the SEC
- Wayfair Way Day 2024: Save up to 60% off on Bedroom Furniture, Bedding, and Decor
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- 'Will Palestine still exist when this war is over?' My answers to my children's questions.
- What to know about the 2024 Kentucky Derby
- Massachusetts detective searches gunshot residue testing website 11 days before his wife is shot dead
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
From Juliet to Cleopatra, Judi Dench revisits her Shakespearean legacy in new book
After Roe, the network of people who help others get abortions see themselves as ‘the underground’
TikToker Jesse Sullivan Shares Own Unique Name Ideas for His and Francesca Farago's Twins
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
Actor Bernard Hill, of ‘Titanic’ and ‘Lord of the Rings,’ has died at 79
Senate races are roiled by campus protests over the war in Gaza as campaign rhetoric sharpens
What is Cinco de Mayo? Holiday's meaning and origins tied to famous 1862 battle