Report: Amazon nearing deal to hire Hall of Famer as NBA analyst

Former NBA champion and 14-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki is expected to launch his broadcasting career by joining Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of the NBA beginning in the 2025-26 season, according to Dallas-area insider Marc Stein, who reports that Nowitzki and Amazon are nearing a deal.

Having long broadcast its games on ABC/ESPN and TNT Sports, the NBA will welcome two new television partners next season, when Amazon and NBC join Disney (ABC/ESPN) as the league’s media rights holders, replacing TNT. Amazon and NBC have both begun the process of hiring play-by-play and color commentators for their game broadcasts.

As Andrew Marchand of The Athletic wrote recently, Amazon previously agreed to hire Ian Eagle and make him its top play-by-play announcer, but has yet to hire any game analysts. Marchand identified Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, ESPN’s Richard Jefferson and Stan Van Gundy as a few potential targets for the streaming giant.

Since retiring as the most accomplished Maverick in franchise history in 2019, Nowitzki has been laying relatively low, having not immediately transitioned into a role as a coach, front office executive or broadcaster. The Hall of Famer reportedly rebuffed interest from good friend Steve Nash to join his coaching staff in Brooklyn in 2020 and then was named a special advisor by the Mavericks in 2021 when Dallas was seeking a new head coach and general manager.

Nowitzki spoke this past summer about his interest in working in basketball, but made it clear that he wasn’t looking for a coaching job. Instead, it appears he’ll go the broadcasting route.

NBC has reportedly agreed to hire Jamal Crawford as a game analyst and is expected to have Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle as its top two play-by-play men. Both Amazon and NBC figure to make several more hires before they begin their NBA broadcasts next year.