The NBA was on fire in its return to Thursday night on TNT

My original plan was to write about Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama going head-to-head on Thursday night. These two skyscrapers, who were born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, played basketball like the Empire State Building if Dr. Octopus’ metallic arms were attached. Those two were spectacular during the Milwaukee Bucks’ 125-121 defeat of the San Antonio Spurs. That was enough excitement for one night but a bonus was provided when Nikola Jokić buried a 39-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 130-127 victory against the Golden State Warriors.

The Nuggets had to go on a 25-4 run in the last half of the fourth quarter to get that victory. They shot poorly from the 3-point line for most of the night, and 11 of their 23 total free-throw attempts were in the final quarter of the game. The struggling Warriors were dominant for the overwhelming majority of the night, but they got caught from behind just as they were about to break the tape.

TNT had not aired an NBA basketball game since Dec. 19, 2023. In 2021, the network ceded Thursday night to the football scraps that the NFL televises. To scoop up the viewers that it can, TNT has the Inside the NBA crew work on Tuesdays from October until the start of the new calendar year.

At first, I was disappointed that the NBA handed its featured night to the NFL. But that was from my tinted fan goggles. For the 2023 season, the average viewership of NFL Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video was nearly 12 million viewers. The NBA cannot sniff those numbers until playoff time. Prime’s highest-rated telecast was Week 2 Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings — the 29th most-watched primetime telecast of the year.

A game that, to me, is not memorable. That Jokić game-winning three and Wembanyama blocking an Antetokounmpo dunk attempt are true moments in NBA history.

Still, not only did the league give up Thursday to the NFL to start the season, but from Dec. 23-Jan. 2 the only NBA games aired by the league’s national television partners was Christmas Day on the Disney family of networks. The league ended the year on the bus while college football games received car service for bowl games in which a large number of star players did not participate.

On Thursday night, Wembanyama rejected a dunk attempt from Antetokounmpo’s hulking frame and both players had monster fourth quarters. The Nuggets went on a ferocious late-game run to eke out a victory against the Warriors. Regular-season records did not matter as both games went down to the wire. TNT went back into its traditional Thursday night slot with two spectacular basketball games, and the studio crew of Shaq, Kenny, Ernie, and Chuck were firing on all cylinders even with Jokić’s disappointment in The Diesel’s failed attempt to speak Serbian.

Basketball was played at its highest level even with Khris Middleton only on the floor one half for the Bucks, and Draymond Green not yet being reinstated from his indefinite suspension. These games were two of the best displays of athleticism on national television in weeks.

Unfortunately, when a schedule has 82 games instead of 17 or less, lack of quantity trumps quality.