Tall Blacks greats and Tall Ferns legends headline the commentary team for the upcoming Sal’s NBL men’s season.
All 93 games will be broadcast live in New Zealand on Sky Sport, with many also appearing on Prime, Sky Sport Next, nznbl.basketball, Stuff.co.nz and the Tribe Sports app.
Overseas, every game will be broadcast on ESPN3 in the United States, while the NZNBLpass will be available for streaming everywhere outside of New Zealand.
When watching from home, viewers can expect to hear the expert analysis of test centurions Casey Frank, Dillon Boucher, Donna Wilkins and Phill Jones, as well as New Zealand’s only WNBA player, and 51 time Tall Fern, Megan Compain.
They’ll pair up with experienced play-by-play commentators Andrew Mulligan, Huw Beynon, Justin Nelson and Andrew Dewhurst as Sky Sport and the Sal’s NBL broadcast games live from arenas all over New Zealand.
“It’s the most decorated and most professional commentary team in the history of the league. We’re lucky to have access to so many experienced former players. Bringing their collective knowledge and combining it with the broadcasting ability of the play-by-play callers should add an extra quality to what already promises to be an exciting Sal’s NBL season,” said Beynon, who assembled the team as one of his first major tasks as NBL Media Manager.
Former NBL player Damien Ekenasio and Canterbury Wildcats head coach Mel Downer will also feature throughout the season, as well as one off guest commentators, and current Tall Fern Zara Jillings will impart her knowledge in certain games from the courtside reporter position.
It’s a stark contrast to the 2020 NBL Showdown team in which Beynon and Frank were on duty five nights a week, for six straight weeks.
“I can’t wait to share the load! Casey and I called 56 of the 57 games in the Showdown last year due to the circumstances of the hub, so we’re delighted to be able to expand the team again. With 93 games all around New Zealand, we’ve even called on the League GM to dust off the microphone and lean on his 20+ years of commentary experience. It really is a great team and fans can look forward to some fun when they settle in to watch the games” Beynon added.
The Sal’s NBL 2021 Commentary Team
Huw Beynon
Andrew Mulligan
Casey Frank
Andrew Dewhurst
Justin Nelson
Donna Wilkins
Megan Compain
Mel Downer
Dillon Boucher
Phill Jones
Damien Ekenasio
Zara Jillings
Conor O’Fee
Miles Pearce
The Sal’s NBL tips off on April 24th at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin when the Otago Nuggets take on the Wellington Saints.
