NBA on NBC: Maria Taylor Set as Lead NBA & WNBA Studio Host
Here's how Maria Taylor fits into the NBA on NBC.
As NBC prepares to tipoff the next NBA season this fall, the network is getting its coverage team lined up for who will be taking us through all the basketball action to come — and now we know who will be the lead studio host for both the NBA and WNBA this fall.
Fan favorite sports broadcaster Maria Taylor will host NBC Sports’ NBA studio shows on Sunday and Tuesday nights alongside analysts Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter on NBC and Peacock. Along with the studio gig, Taylor will also host select WNBA games on NBC and Peacock in 2026.
The NBA on NBC and Peacock will spotlight national coverage of regional doubleheaders on Tuesday nights beginning in October. After Sunday Night Football coverage concludes in Jan. 2026, NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock, debuting on Feb. 1. Peacock will also livestream exclusive national Monday night games starting this fall.
Who is Maria Taylor?
Taylor should already be a familiar face for NBC Sports viewers, as she’s been the lead host of Football Night in America since 2022. Taylor has also hosted for the Tokyo, Beijing, and Paris Olympics; Big Ten College Countdown, NBC Sports’ primetime college football studio program; Roland-Garros semifinals and finals; and more.
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“I’m deeply honored to be part of NBC Sports’ incredible legacy covering the NBA and to return to the game that first captured my heart, women’s basketball,” said Taylor. “To know that I’ll spend the next five years with my NBC family telling the stories of the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the NBA Playoffs, and the WNBA Finals is more than a dream come true -- it’s a full-circle moment.”
As for Taylor’s basketball bona fides, she has prior experience working on the NBA having hosted NBA Countdown playoffs and Finals coverage in recent years. A former Division I volleyball and basketball player at the University of Georgia, Taylor has also hosted College Gameday as well as the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament selection show and Final Four coverage. With Taylor moving into this new NBA role, she will no longer host Big Ten College Countdown. A new host for College Countdown will be announced soon.
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Taylor won a Sports Emmy as part of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was honored as Outstanding Live Special - Championship Event. Additionally, in 2021, Adweek named her one of the “Most Powerful Women in Sports,” while in 2022, TIME Magazine included her in its TIME100 Next list, which identifies the “emerging leaders who are shaping the future.”
NBC’s NBA broadcast team
The full picture of NBC’s NBA broadcast team is still coming into focus, but Taylor joins a crew with plenty of star power and NBA experience. Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller will serve as game analysts, Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter as studio analysts, and Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle as play-by-play voices. NBA legend Michael Jordan has been announced as a special contributor.
More on the NBA on NBC
NBC and the NBA have inked an 11-year agreement to present NBA and WNBA regular-season and playoff basketball games across numerous platforms beginning with the 2025-26 season. Peacock will livestream exclusive national Monday night games while NBC/Peacock will present national coverage of regional doubleheaders on Tuesday nights.
NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball in 2026 across NBC and Peacock, providing NBA fans with three consecutive nights of national coverage across NBCUniversal platforms during the second half of the regular season. For more information on the agreement, click here.
