Caitlin Clark is officially everywhere. College gyms, WNBA headlines, jersey sales, highlight reels, and now, NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball. Because why not add another win to the resumé?
Clark will join NBC for the Lakers and Knicks pregame show at Madison Square Garden. Yes, that Madison Square Garden. The big one, the loud one and the place where legends are made and hot takes are born. This also marks Clark’s NBA broadcast debut.
The timing is perfect. Lakers, Knicks, MSG, national TV. It’s basically basketball Christmas. NBC knew exactly what it was doing. You don’t roll out a debut like this quietly. You do it with bright lights and a whole lot of eyeballs.
Clark isn’t there to shoot from the logo. Sadly. She is going to be there to talk hoops, break down the game add insight.
NBC announced Tuesday that Clark — the Indiana Fever star with an enormous following within the game — is joining the network’s pregame coverage for its debut of “Sunday Night Basketball” this weekend when the Los Angeles Lakers play the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
“There’s no more iconic figure in basketball in the women’s game right now, or the game in general,” Sam Flood, executive producer for NBC Sports, told The Associated Press. “So, we said, ‘let’s have a bigger conversation.’”
It’s a logical fit: NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, and Clark announced that she entered a marketing relationship with Xfinity in March 2024. Clark has done some television work before, including a cameo on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in April 2024.
And this is what Caitlin Clark had to say about her broadcast debut on NBC.
“I’m really excited to be part of the Basketball Night in America crew this season,” Clark said in a statement released by NBC. “Carmelo, Vince, and Tracy are legends of the game and Maria is a true professional. It will be really fun to join them a few times this season.”
According to Sam Flood, executive producer for NBC Sports, Clark is capable of handling her new role.
“She’s had cameras pointed at her for years, and she’s certainly always put on a show with a basketball in her hand. And after a game ends, she’s always a great interview,” Flood said. “She’s always so thoughtful in everything she says. And to have the ability to do that on this platform, with this team, it’s going to be a lot of fun to listen to it. That’s the beauty of who she is.”
“She’s going to be in a basketball arena, like she always is, and in her comfort zone — which is on the court talking about the sport she loves and the sport that she shines in,” Flood said. “So, what better place for her to debut than in Madison Square Garden with this a great team of talent around her? We’re confident she’ll thrive, because a basketball court is her second home.”
“We’re hoping to have Caitlin with a basketball in her hand,” Flood said.
This debut isn’t just about one game. It’s about what’s coming next. More media roles, bigger platforms and more crossover between leagues. Clark is not staying in one box. She never has!
