The voice of the NBA has a new sidekick.
Turner Sports has promoted Reggie Miller to the lead NBA broadcast team with Marv Albert. Miller will replace Steve Kerr, who departed TNT in June to become GM of the Phoenix Suns.
Miller, who joined TNT in 2005, had previously been the third string analyst on NBA games, partnering occasionally with the Albert/Kerr and Kevin Harlan/Doug Collins teams during the regular season, and joining Dick Stockton for the playoffs.
With Mike Fratello, a former TNT analyst and longtime broadcast partner of Marv Albert, available, it is somewhat surprising that TNT would promote Miller, who has been generally panned as an analyst. Even if there were issues in coming to terms with Fratello, the network could have moved Doug Collins — who worked with Albert on NBC during the 2000-01 season — to the lead team, leaving Miller to team with Kevin Harlan.
Still, while some may find the Miller promotion questionable, Marv Albert is optimistic. “[Miller] got it so quickly from a broadcasting point of view … He just had it. I always feel you have it or you don’t. … He’s going to be great.”
