Perhaps you don’t always associate Ian Eagle with the NBA on TNT. ‘The Bird’ has been an integral part of the network’s coverage over the years, but he isn’t as ingrained in the fabric as Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith and Ernie Johnson.

Hearing Eagle’s pipes on national broadcasts is always a treat, as he juggles that with his NFL on CBS responsibilities and being the lead play-by-play voice for the Brooklyn Nets on YES Network. But a ramification that few people have paid much attention to with NBC getting the NBA from TNT is that Eagle will no longer be calling national NBA games.

During a recent appearance on the Awful Announcing Podcast with host Brandon Contes, he spoke to that change.

“Incredibly bittersweet. I think there are so many people connected to it that have been associated with the league for so long that have done incredible work to make the league what it is in many ways, because similar to what we were talking about in regards to WFAN Radio, you have a generation of NBA fans that have watched and consumed the NBA on TNT from studio to games to peripheral programming,” says Eagle. “And not just doing it, but doing it in an exemplary way — a gold standard of which to do the job.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be a really unique year because if it is indeed the end, it’s a celebration in many ways, but still got to go out and do your job, and host the games and do the studio, go about your business. I think it’s gonna be emotional when it’s all said and done. Just an incredible group of people that all came together for all the right reasons to do this job the right way.”

What happens to Eagle?

“I don’t know yet; I’m not sure,” he tells Contes regarding his national NBA game(s) future. “There are some possibilities out there, but there’s nothing set in stone. My hope is that it continues. I love doing the NBA. I’ve been doing it since 1994 — I have a real passion for it, enjoy all aspects of it, and certainly appreciate the national side of it. Jumping in on a national matchup in a fantastic venue with an incredible ambiance and environment, you get goosebumps in those moments.

“There were a number of times in the playoffs last year where I had to pull the old, ‘You gotta pinch yourself; you’re doing these games.’ And I’ve felt that way, of course, during the Final Four, as well. It’s interesting because the Final Four is such a cavernous venue that you don’t have the same feeling, the same physical feeling when you’re calling the NBA, and there’s 19,000 fans on top of you.

“College basketball regular season, you go to Kansas; you go to Tennessee; you go to Duke. Of course, you feel it. The Final Four, the fans are away from you — everybody is far away. I remember going up for our open for the Final Four. You have to go up the stairs; it’s an elevated floor, and you feel like you’re so far away from mankind; it’s really strange. The camera that’s shooting you, normally if they’re shooting with you on the court — NBA arena, college basketball arena — the fans are right there. You look off to the side; it’s fans, it’s laced with fans. And in the Final Four, it was not.

“That’s an adjustment. It was definitely a little different, where I had to catch myself and recognize, ‘OK, energy level is paramount in these situations,’ and understanding that you’re not gonna get the same stimuli that you would normally get in your normal day-to-day broadcast set-up.

“So, my hope is that things work out, and we’ll see. Hopefully, there’s a little more clarity coming up.”

From Eagle’s perspective, it’s not as simple as looking at ESPN, Amazon, and NBC and picking which would be the best fit for him personally. The aforementioned networks have to reciprocate that same interest, not that there wouldn’t be. Eagle’s son, Noah, is certainly a prime candidate to do some NBA work himself for NBC, as is Mike Tirico. And Mike Breen is already firmly entrenched at the Worldwide Leader.

“I hope there’s a spot, and I hope to continue doing this,” he says. “I certainly feel like I’m doing my best work at this point in my career, and I’d like to continue it. I’d also like to believe that I still haven’t called the best moment of my broadcasting career, that there’s something out there in the future that one day I’ll look back at and say, ‘Wow, that blew my mind.’ And that’s how you have to view it.

“I think every game poses a possibility of something that you did not expect, and that’s what keeps us coming back. The mystery, the fact that you can’t predict this. It is truly the best reality show in the world. Sports is true reality. You could tape it, you could watch it back later, but there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to know the result or hear about it or see it, a glimpse on your phone. You have to be there. You have to be on it to experience.

“And as a play-by-play announcer, that’s what keeps you excited to call something new and different and unique. Even the Super Bowl this last year was on the world feed, I can’t tell you the feelings that I was expiecing as that was building and building and building into the overtime period. And now, every play could be the game-ender. And as a play-by-play announcer, it’s your job to meet the moment; you can’t let the moment pass you by. That’s what you root for, and that’s what you keep coming back for.”

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