Maria Taylor to Lead NBA Coverage as NBC Sports Starts 11-Year Partnership.
Taylor will team up with analysts Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter to lead NBC Sports’ NBA coverage for the 2025-26 season.
As the 2025-26 basketball season approaches, NBC Sports has tapped Maria Taylor as the lead studio host for NBA coverage.
Taylor, who already hosts “Football Night in America” and contributes to NBC’s Olympic coverage, will join analysts Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter to anchor the network’s studio shows on Sundays and Tuesdays. She will also cover select WNBA games starting in 2026.
“I’m deeply honored to be part of NBC Sports’ incredible legacy and return to the game that first captured my heart, women’s basketball,” said Taylor. “Spending the next five years telling the stories of the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the NBA Playoffs, and the WNBA Finals with my NBC family is more than a dream come true — it’s a full-circle moment.”
aylor joined NBC in 2021 after leaving ESPN’s “NBA Countdown.” ESPN had offered her a multi-million-dollar raise in 2021 following an incident involving a colleague who allegedly commented that the network only hired Taylor due to pressure regarding its diversity record. NBC Sports Executive Producer Sam Flood praised Taylor’s leadership, highlighting her successful work with the network’s major programs. “I’m excited to see her bring that same leadership and energy to this new team with Carmelo and Vince, as they build chemistry and set the stage for primetime NBA basketball each week, and the WNBA beginning next year,” Flood said.
The announcement follows NBCUniversal’s return as an NBA partner. In July 2024, NBCUniversal and the NBA sealed an 11-year agreement to air NBA and WNBA regular-season and playoff games starting later this year. As part of its return to NBA coverage, NBC will continue its nearly two-decade tradition of premium Sunday night sports with a new Sunday Night Basketball NBA series, airing at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Each tip-off will follow a one-hour pregame show, and Tuesdays will feature a special NBA doubleheader at 8 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. PT.
