Hardwood Classics
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| NBA TV: Hardwood Classics, presented by The History Channel (also known as NBA's Greatest Games) | |
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| Format | sports anthology |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | N/A |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 2 hours |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBA TV |
| Original run | October 1999 – present |
Hardwood Classics is a television series that airs on NBA TV, and it features many of the greatest classic games recorded on videotape and/or film in National Basketball Association history. The show is produced by NBA Entertainment. The program normally airs Thursdays at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, but does air numerous times throughout the broadcast week. Each episode normally airs two hours in length (condensed down from the normal two-and-a-half hour length of a live telecast), although there have been some episodes that were only thirty to sixty minutes long, due to complete lack of footage.
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[edit] NBA's Greatest Games
The series, originally titled NBA's Greatest Games, debuted in 1999, alongside the formation of NBA TV (then nba.com TV). The program was re-titled NBA TV: Hardwood Classics, presented by The History Channel, in March 2004. However, some episodes still run under the Greatest Games title.
[edit] As Hardwood Classics
In this re-formatted version, the program features interviews and trivia tidbits pertaining to the game being presented. Hardwood Classics features footage used by the NBA's past and present broadcasting partners, such as ABC, CBS, ESPN, NBC, TBS, TNT, USA Network, and as well as locally-produced broadcasts from the individual NBA franchises.
[edit] Notable episodes
Most of the episodes that have been broadcast on this series have been mostly playoffs and Finals games, but also features significant games with great personal accomplishments, such as:
- Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game performance versus the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.
- Michael Jordan’s 63-point game performance versus the Boston Celtics in a 1986 playoff game.
- Michael Jordan's 55-point performance versus the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in March 1995, in one of his first games upon returning from his first retirement.
- Kevin Garnett’s NBA debut versus the Kings at Sacramento in November 1995.
- The playoff duel between Hall of Famers Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics in a 1988 playoff game in Boston Garden.
- Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers making his NBA debut against the then-Washington Bullets at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
- Julius Erving’s final NBA All-Star Game appearance in 1987 at Seattle’s Kingdome.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final All-Star Game appearance in 1989 at the Houston Astrodome.
- At Denver's now-demolished McNichols Sports Arena, the Nuggets hosted the Detroit Pistons on December 13, 1983 in what still is the NBA's highest scoring game ever, with Detroit winning 186-184 in triple-overtime. This game also set the record for the most players in a single game to score 40 or more points, as Piston players Isiah Thomas and John Long scored 47 and 41 points respectively, while Denver's Kiki Vandeweghe led all scorers with 51 points, while teammate Alex English scored 47.
- At Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on December 7, 2006, the Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Nets played in the fourth-highest scoring game in NBA history, with the Suns winning in a 161-157 final score in triple-overtime.
- Shaquille O'Neal’s NBA debut versus the Miami Heat at Orlando on November 6, 1992.
- Considered by many as the greatest basketball game ever, the upstart Suns took the Celtics to triple-overtime, and won Game 5 of their NBA Finals series, 128-126 on May 9, 1976 at the legendary Boston Garden.
As sort of a special treat for fans, NBA TV normally broadcasts a Hardwood Classics/Greatest Games episode that features a significant game between two franchises that happen to play each other in a game taking place on that same night.
On or around Christmas, NBA TV shows marathons of classic Christmas Day games. These games are from as far back as 1970 and often feature the New York Knicks (with 45 appearances on Christmas Day, by far the most of any other NBA franchise, including 27 straight years from 1961 to 1988), while other teams are featured as well. One example of this was the Christmas Day 1985 matchup between the Knicks and the eventual champion Boston Celtics where the Knicks trailed 58-33 in the 3rd period, yet came back to force overtime, eventually winning 114-103 in two overtimes. Another notable Knicks Christmas Day game took place a year earlier, featuring them and cross-river rival New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden, in which Knicks forward Bernard King scores 60 points in a 120-114 New York loss.
The earilest Christmas Day telecast in the NBA TV archives is a 1970 ABC telecast, between the Hawks and Suns from the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, with the Suns winning 127-115.
[edit] See also
- Bulls–Knicks rivalry
- Knicks–Heat rivalry
- Lakers–Celtics rivalry
- Lakers–Kings rivalry
- Pistons–Celtics rivalry
- Celtics–Sixers rivalry
- Rivalries of the NBA
- NBA All-Star Game
- NBA Finals
[edit] External links
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