Without any live games to air due to the lockout, NBA TV can only go so far showing classic games from the 1970’s through 1994 and movies like “Teen Wolf”. So starting Tuesday, it’ll premiere a new studio show named, “Open Court” hosted by Ernie Johnson, Jr. and featuring several of the Turner Sports NBA analysts including Charles Barkley, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Reggie Miller, Steve Kerr and Shaquille O’Neal.
All will talk about their experiences playing in the NBA and tell stories that will make us laugh, cry, sneer and spit. Ok, maybe not sneer and spit, but you get the idea.
Open Court will be a six part series and will focus on various topics. The programs will aired from the Turner Sports studios in Atlanta. They will air at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesdays.
We have the synopsis of the series from NBA TV and Turner Sports.
NBA TV To Debut Original Six-Part Series, Open Court, Nov. 22
Roundtable discussion to feature NBA TV, TNT participants Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Steve Smith and Chris Webber
NBA TV has announced a six-part original series entitled Open Court, which will feature NBA and basketball stories, opinions and colorful commentary from a cross section of elite NBA announcers, featuring NBA Champions, NBA All-Stars and Olympic Gold Medalists. The first episode will debut on NBA TV on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET following NBA TV’s Game Time which airs at 7:00 p.m. ET. Each additional Open Court episode will air weekly on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
The series will be moderated by Emmy® Award winning studio host Ernie Johnson and will feature Charles Barkley, Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller, Kenny Smith, Steve Smith, Chris Webber, and the newest member of the TNT Studio team, Shaquille O’Neal.
Open Court is produced by Turner Sports and will take place on a custom built set at NBA TV’s Atlanta studios. These basketball greats will share their personal stories, pressure moments, expertise and thoughts on other NBA stars while showcasing their unique and unforgettable memories. The six episodes will be titled:
Open Court: Tallest Tales of the NBA (November 22)
Open Court: My Generation (November 29)
Open Court: Curious Tales of the NBA (December 6)
Open Court: Pressurized Tales of the NBA (December 13)
Open Court: Head Games and Fame (December 20)
Open Court: Curtain Calls and Loose Balls (December 20 following Open Court: Head Games and Fame)Video clip from Open Court
“Open Court is a perfect fit with our original programming strategy to create high-quality entertaining content that celebrates basketball’s rich history and can be used across NBA Digital’s linear and digital assets,” said Christina Miller, SVP and general manager, NBA Digital. “This new series highlights NBA TV and TNT’s incredible talent roster who through a series of roundtable discussions share their amazing experiences in and around the game they love with our audience.”
“The opportunity to gather in a casual setting the expertise, personalities and championship persona of our NBA announcers will provide for an extremely entertaining and informative series,” said Jeff Behnke, executive producer/senior vice president, Turner Sports. “To have these seven elite players together will give the fans and viewers six compelling hours of opinions and humor.”
NBA TV provides premium original programming that complements its line-up of NBA, WNBA and international basketball games. Previous NBA TV’s roundtables have included NBA Roundtable: 1980’s Dallas Mavericks; NBA Roundtable: Stars of the ‘90’s; WNBA Roundtable: Generations; and Run TMC: The Power of 3. The network has also featured critically-acclaimed documentaries including Rodman Revealed; Big Game James: The James Worthy Story; 24 Hours with Cappie Poindexter, and The Wayman Tisdale Story.
Highlights from the Open Court series:
Miller, whose brother Darrell played for the California Angels for five years, on playing in the Major Leagues: “I grew up a huge baseball player. I was an All-World pitcher…I could play Major League Baseball TODAY. I could be an outfielder.”
Webber: “What would be your average, though?”
Miller: “.250 and I would make $100 million. I’m not a home-run hitter; just get on-base and steal.”Shaq on who in the NBA will be upset from what is in his new book ‘Shaq Uncut’: “We all can’t tell everything, but stuff that’s already been said, I am just reflecting back on it. I may take a little jab here and there but it’s nothing personal. But I ain’t hard to find. I’ll be here every Wednesday and Thursday (for NBA TV, TNT).”
Barkley on how Julius “Dr. J” Erving mentored him as a rookie “One of the big problems in the NBA today is I don’t think they have enough older guys on these teams. I think every NBA team should have an older guy. How did Doc help me? Doc sent me shopping. He said, ‘Son, you’re a grown ass man. A grown man can’t wear warm-ups through the airports all the time. He took me shopping. He bought me suits.”
That will do it.
