“Sometimes you just need to be teamed up with the right people and have the right mix, and Angel has found that in Atlanta, and it’s allowed her to thrive.” – Sue Bird on Angel Reese’s fit in Atlanta
“The reason I give maybe a slight, slight razor’s edge to Atlanta is only because of the scoring power that they have…It’s going to be very interesting to see which team can mirror who they are.” – Cheryl Miller on her 2026 WNBA Finals prediction
“It’s OKC and San Antonio and then everyone else in the West. Not to say that you can’t have a dark horse come up, but it’s clearly those two teams.” – Reggie Miller on the Western Conference
“They have what everybody wants. It’s like, okay, now we have the formula, we have the recipe, we know Coach Brown’s system works, we know who our guy is, and we know we can play late in games. We have the recipe to go do this again.” – Jamal Crawford on the Knicks’ chances of repeating as champions
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 15, 2026 – With the WNBA Finals returning to NBC Sports for the first time since 2002 and the first-ever NBA Tip-Off tripleheader on NBC and Peacock this Tuesday, Oct. 20, WNBA analysts and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Sue Bird and Cheryl Miller, NBA analyst and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, NBA analyst and three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, and Executive Producer Sam Flood previewed the upcoming WNBA Finals and NBA Tip-Off tripleheader on a media conference call yesterday, Oct. 14.
Following are some of the highlights, with the entire transcription available here.
On the 2026 WNBA Finals
Cheryl Miller on her WNBA Finals prediction: “The reason I give maybe a slight, slight razor’s edge to Atlanta is only because of the scoring power that they have…It’s going to be very interesting to see which team can mirror who they are.”
Cheryl Miller on Atlanta’s Angel Reese: “One thing that set Angel apart as a rookie was her drive, her tenacity, her desire. I think she’s one of those players where the more you tell her who she’s not and try to set limits, she’s going to break those ceilings every time.”
Sue Bird on Reese’s fit with the Dream: “The roster around her in Atlanta is just a great pairing. Sometimes you just need to be teamed up with the right people and have the right mix, and Angel has found that in Atlanta, and it’s allowed her to thrive.”
Bird on Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase: “She’s just a coach that really understands who she is and does a tremendous job of communicating that to her players. The buy-in that she’s gotten from the Golden State Valkyries really speaks to her ability to communicate and her ability to say this is who I am and this is what I think we’re capable of.”
On NBC Sports’ return to the WNBA:
Sam Flood: “We love being back in the WNBA business. It was launched on NBC, and it was great job in those early years, but it’s at a whole different level now…This current iteration of the league is so much fun to watch. These buildings are packed. The crowds are crazy engaged at every second of every game. These are two venues (Golden State and Atlanta) that will be all in.”
On the Knicks:
Jamal Crawford on the Knicks’ chances of repeating as champions: “They have what everybody wants. It’s been 53 years. New York was yearning for that…It’s like, okay, now we have the formula, we have the recipe, we know Coach (Mike) Brown‘s system works, we know who our guy is, and we know we can play late in games. We have the recipe to go do this again.”
Reggie Miller on the Knicks’ response to the Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart contract extension talks: “This team will be focused and locked in because of the captain in Jalen Brunson, and he will get his team right because their window is wide open right now.”
On the Thunder and Spurs:
Reggie Miller on the class of the Western Conference: “It’s OKC and San Antonio and then everyone else in the West. Not to say that you can’t have a dark horse come up, but it’s clearly those two teams.”
Crawford on his experience calling the 2026 Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and Thunder: “It was high-level chess basketball that was going on, and I honestly believe with NBC’s storytelling bringing that story to life, a new generation of fans opened up…Reg and I were calling the game but we were truly lost in the game as well.”
Reggie Miller on the Spurs responding to their 2026 NBA Finals loss: “I really want to see if San Antonio can bounce back because that is a gut blow. When you are up double digits in the Finals four of five games and one of those games you’re up 29 with a chance to even the series and the Knicks come back and win that ballgame, there’s only one of two ways you can go. You can go the previous way like what San Antonio did when they lost that Finals against Miami (in 2013) and came back the next year and won, or we may never hear from them again. And I don’t think that’s going to be the case with this team.”
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NBC Sports will present live coverage of Games 1 and 4 of the WNBA Finals between Gabby Williams and the Golden State Valkyries and Angel Reese and Atlanta Dream on Saturday, Oct. 17, and Saturday, Oct. 24, with Game 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET and Game 4 at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. This is the first WNBA Finals that NBC Sports will present since 2002, when the Los Angeles Sparks swept the New York Liberty. WNBA Showtime, hosted by Maria Taylor alongside analysts Sue Bird and Cheryl Miller, will accompany both games. As previously announced, Games 2-3 and 5-7 will see Peacock simulstream USA Network’s coverage produced by Versant’s USA Sports.
The first-ever American Express NBA Tip-Off tripleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 20, on NBC and Peacock, features 2026 NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks raising the franchise’s first NBA Championship banner since 1973 before hosting four-time NBA MVP LeBron James and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Live coverage begins with NBA Showtime at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by tip-off at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Knicks-76ers will be bookended by two marquee matchups featuring some of the league’s brightest stars. The day begins with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics taking on Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons and concludes with reigning two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the Oklahoma City Thunder against reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of last season’s thrilling seven-game Western Conference Finals.
This will be the first time that a network has ever broadcast three NBA Tip-Off games.
--NBC SPORTS--
