Doing the ESPN studio show on NBA Christmas Day is one of the longest marathons in sports broadcasting. Pregame starts at 11 a.m. ET and the show goes until halftime of the fifth game, around 11:30 p.m. This year, the ESPN crew of Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, and Kendrick Perkins held it down throughout the holiday, with guest appearances from Shams Charania and Bob Myers.

Yet even knowing how draining 12 hours of live TV can be and by the inconsistent (to say the least) standards of ESPN’s NBA studio show, this year’s Christmas coverage was a drag. It was a stark reminder of ESPN’s failures to develop a coherent NBA product, as well as the perfect advertisement for why the network paid up to license Inside the NBA from TNT starting next year.

One would hope Smith would be freshest and most knowledgeable about the opening game between his Knicks and the visiting San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden. While ESPN did an admirable job hyping up Victor Wembanyama’s breakout Christmas performance, Smith resorted to teasing when asked how New York could stop the Spurs’ alien center.

“Karl-Anthony Towns … go out there and be more formidable your damn self,” Smith demanded of the Knicks’ center. “Do something!”

ESPN’s NBA halftime show on Christmas Day was all over the place…

During Spurs-Knicks from MSG, Stephen A. Smith had this to say about how New York could stop Victor Wembanyama:

“Karl-Anthony Towns … go out there and be more formidable your damn self. Do something!” pic.twitter.com/UBgT1tzPLi

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 26, 2024

Later, after Myers joined the table, ESPN handed its halftime show the keys to breaking down a fascinating upset road win by the Philadelphia 76ers over the Boston Celtics. As the Sixers tried to turn their season around and Boston’s great defense faltered, the panel argued over who the best player on Philadelphia’s roster was.

An exasperated Bob Myers buried his head on the desk and blurted out that he had something actually “interesting” to say, before getting swallowed up in the debate anyway.

During a surprise win by Philly over the rival Celtics, ESPN’s analysis devolved into an argument over whether Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey is the best player on the 76ers

Bob Myers cut in with an “I was going to say something interesting” as Kendrick Perkins offered a retort 😬 pic.twitter.com/YmZfjfRuWc

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 26, 2024

Because Lakers-Warriors, the marquee game of the night, ended late and segued straight into the nightcap of Suns-Nuggets, ESPN returned to the LeBron James vs. Steph Curry bout at halftime in Phoenix. Another magical clash between the two legends went down to the wire and ended with James proclaiming the NBA the kings of Christmas.

Yet somehow, ESPN’s analysis of the game turned into a First Take segment as Smith got distracted by the shiny object of a Michael Jordan factoid and used valuable seconds to talk up the Hall of Famer, who hasn’t played in the NBA in two decades.

At halftime of the nightcap in Phoenix, ESPN stayed on the previous Lakers-Warriors game

…which ended up with Stephen A. Smith turning the show briefly into a ‘First Take’ segment debating Jordan vs. LeBron pic.twitter.com/pyQXgh8a7V

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 26, 2024

For years, NBA Countdown and ESPN’s NBA halftime show have been aimless. Talent comes and goes, and the show is simply an advertising vehicle.

Still, this iteration of the show is one of the worst. ESPN producers still give talent too little time to speak to form any kind of coherent argument or have a real discussion. The hosts aren’t on the same page, and chemistry is nonexistent.

Smith, Perkins, and Myers each bring extraordinarily strong personalities, and none of them seems willing to cede ground to make the others look better. The show is a stubborn fight over takes and airtime.

Starting in 2025 (assuming no contract drama), Inside the NBA will shepherd NBA fans through Christmas Day instead. It’s a perfect match for what ESPN needs on its long hoops holiday. With the massive runtime and unpredictable schedule (depending on when games end), Inside is incomparable at killing time without it ever feeling dead. Nobody idly goofs around about sports and manufactures fun like Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.

Assuming ESPN cedes production control to TNT, we may actually get lengthier conversations about the NBA as well. Christmas Day should not only be a day of great basketball games, but a marquee moment for the league to bring fans up to speed about the season, its stories, and its characters.

Right now, ESPN is not checking any of those boxes. Viewership will likely be strong because the NBA got lucky with health and close games throughout its Christmas schedule (unlike the NFL). But the league better hope that the players were so intoxicating that fans are funneled into following the rest of the season. Because its primary broadcast partner did not do its job bringing viewers into that funnel.

Perhaps for contractual reasons, Inside takes a slightly different form at ESPN — one that may or may not feature Smith. Until we see it, this Christmas will have to serve as a reminder of why ESPN pursued Inside in the first place, and how desperately they need the beloved folks at Studio J to save them from themselves.

[NBA on ESPN]