Jason Benetti of NBC Sports will get the chance to mix in some NBA announcing with his MLB coverage this season, Front Office Sports has learned.
Benetti, the lead voice of NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball, will handle play-by-play for some regular-season and NBA playoff games during the upcoming season, sources say.
The 42-year-old Benetti has hoops experience: He called Game 2 of the 76ers-Celtics Eastern Conference first-round series on Peacock and NBCSN this past year. He previously filled in on local Bulls and Trail Blazers broadcasts and has called college basketball for various networks throughout his career.
Benetti won’t replace any current NBC announcers. Instead, he’ll supplement the network’s roster of play-by-play announcers, including Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle, Terry Gannon, and Michael Grady. Sources expect Benetti to be on the microphone for between 10 and 20 NBA telecasts during the upcoming season, depending on the schedule.
With LeBron James jumping to the 76ers from the Lakers, excitement is already high for the upcoming 2026–27 campaign.
NBC will offer viewers a triple-header to tip off the season on Tuesday, Oct. 20, with Celtics vs. Pistons at 3 p.m. ET; the defending champion Knicks vs. King James and the Sixers at 7 p.m.; and Spurs vs. Thunder at 9:30 p.m.
Despite being born 10 weeks premature with cerebral palsy, Benetti has soared to the top of the play-by-play ranks during his career with NBC, Fox Sports, and ESPN.
In March, FOS broke the news that Benetti had landed NBC’s top play-by-play job while maintaining his role as the Tigers’ announcer. Speaking with FOS’s Ryan Glasspiegel, he talked about learning to trust his own dry sense of humor during baseball broadcasts. That was evident in his memorable call of an elusive squirrel creating havoc on the field during a Tigers game.
“I watched a lot of SNL growing up—a lot of it. It’s a piece of me to care about timing. But I would also say baseball is the best sport that affords you the chance to do ‘asides’ while also honoring the big moments of the game,” he said.
We’ll find out if Benetti uses his dry wit while calling NBA games this season.
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