NBA Players Association Preparing Players For TV With Sportscaster U

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Anytime you flip on an NBA studio show on TNT, ESPN, or Fox Sports 1, you’re likely to see a gang of former NBA players breaking down games. And while it’s true they get put first in line for those jobs, it’s not as if they’re coming in dry without experience.

The NBA Players Association has been offering a Sportscaster U program for current and former players since 2008, churning out some of the most notable names you see on TV today. Syracuse’s Newhouse School, one of the top journalism programs in the country, acts as the host for the program, allowing the former athletes to get acquainted with all the newest technology they’ll hopefully encounter at their studio jobs.

Among the alumni of the program is Shaquille O’Neal, potentially the best former player analyst out there. For the 10th anniversary of Sportscaster U, the behemoth sang the praises of the program right from the chair we are used to seeing him in.

Recently, former Knicks three-point ace Steve Novak picked up his first post-career broadcasting job covering his hometown Milwaukee Bucks for Fox Sports Milwaukee. And as you’d expect, he was fresh off a stint at Sportscaster U.

Novak was a part of the most recent class that made the trek to Syracuse, alongside a gaggle of current and former players: Langston Galloway, Danny Green, Gerald Henderson, Willie Reed, Earl Barron, and Loren Woods.

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Per Newhouse, the program has trained more than 60 players since its inception. Besides Shaq, Richard Hamilton (NBATV) and Casey Jacobsen (FS1) have also landed gigs at national broadcast networks, while countless others have nabbed regional jobs.