#1990s #1995 #NBAonTBS #TBS #SuperStation #AtlantaHawks #NationalBasketballAssociation #GoldenStateWarriors


(c)1995 NBA Entertainment/TBS-WarnerMedia Discovery


March 28, 1995 commercial for TBS coverage of the Atlanta Hawks (34-35 coming in and still in contention for a playoff spot) traveling to the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors (22-47 coming in).


TBS was the original Turner home of national NBA coverage dating back to 1984; though starting in the 1989-90 season, Turner began splitting coverage, with most games airing on the recently-launch TNT network (where this ad aired); though Atlanta Hawks games (owing to Ted Turner owning the Hawks) would often be carried on WTBS dating to the beginning of its "superstation" era in the late 1970s and would be the primary coverage carried on TBS. Additionally; unlike the coverage on TNT, TBS would typically carry single games, with one double-header per week. TBS would remain a cable partner with the NBA until 2001-02; when the NBA entered a contract that led to the return of ESPN to NBA coverage starting in 2002 and Turner elected to make TNT their exclusive home of their cable rights (this coincided with over-the-air rights moving from NBC to ESPN corporate sibling ABC). Since then, TBS' only NBA coverage has been airing "overflow" rights whenever one of the games TNT is carrying on a doubleheader runs long and the other doubleheader game is starting - with TBS airing the latter game until TNT's other game ended - and also since 2015 simulcasting TNT's All-Star Game coverage (save for a 2019 "Players Only" experiment where the only broadcasters were ex-players; with Greg Anthony calling the game; commentary by Kevin Garnett and Inside the NBA's Charles Barkley and Dennis Scott as sideline reporter)



As for the result, the Hawks routed the lowly Warriors 108-80; aided by Hawks forward Grant Long's game-high 21 points while the Hawks held Golden State's star players, the aforementioned Latrell Sprewell and veteran Chris Mullin, to 10 points apiece (Golden State's top scorer was backup shooting guard Ryan Lothridge with 12 points).


Lastly, this is the first in a series of ads taken from an eBay purchase of TNT's broadcast of the Bulls-Knicks game known for Michael Jordan's "double nickels" performance roughly a week and a half after coming out of retirement (the first time)