Bob Fitzgerald of NBC Sports Bay Area Returns to Provide Play-by-Play for Team USA Men’s and Women’s Games, and Medal Rounds in Tokyo
Kate Scott (Play-by-Play), Fran Fraschilla (Analyst) & Monica McNutt (Analyst) to Call Olympic Basketball
U.S. Women Aim for Unprecedented 7th Consecutive Gold Medal; U.S. Men Look to Strike 7th Gold in Past 8 Olympics
NBC Sports to Present USA Basketball’s 3x3 Tournament Coverage This Thursday at 12:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 15, 2021 – Olympic gold medalists Vince Carter, Kara Lawson and Candace Parker will join NBC Olympics as basketball analysts in Tokyo this summer, it was announced today. The Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is Friday, July 23 on NBC.
Carter led the gold-medal winning Team USA in scoring (14.8 points per game) at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Lawson and Parker were teammates on the U.S. women’s team which won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with Lawson scoring a team-high 15 points in the gold-medal game. Parker won a second gold medal with Team USA in London in 2012, posting game highs in points (21) and rebounds (11) in the championship match.
“We are excited to have this distinguished trio of U.S. Olympic basketball stars join our commentary team in Tokyo. Vince, Kara and Candace will bring viewers their unique perspectives on what’s happening on the court while also telling the stories about what it takes to make it to the medal stand – from tryouts, to practices and qualifying, to medal-round play,” said Rebecca Chatman, Vice President and Coordinating Producer of NBC Olympics production.
Joining Carter, Lawson, and Parker in Tokyo will be NBC Olympics veteran Bob Fitzgerald (play-by-play) from NBC Sports Bay Area. Fitzgerald, who works his fifth Olympics, returns to handle basketball play-by-play, which he called in London in 2012.
In addition, Tokyo Olympic basketball will be called from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Connecticut by Kate Scott (NBC Olympics debut, play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (second NBC Olympics assignment, analyst) and Monica McNutt (NBC Olympics debut, analyst).
Following is a closer look at this summer’s NBC Olympics basketball team:
Vince Carter, an eight-time NBA All-Star who played a record 22 NBA seasons, joins the NBC Olympics team for the first time this summer. After retiring from the NBA in 2020, he joined ESPN as an NBA and college studio and game analyst. Carter averaged at least 20 points per game in 10 consecutive NBA seasons (1999-2000 through 2008-09), a streak which began the season after he was named NBA Rookie of the Year.
Bob Fitzgerald, the play-by-play voice of the Golden State Warriors on NBC Sports Bay Area since 1997, works his fifth Olympics and second for NBC Olympics handling basketball play-by-play (2012 London Olympics). Previously, he called water polo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and handled radio play-by-play for basketball in Athens in 2004 and swimming in Atlanta in 1996. Fitzgerald also currently calls NFL and college football games for Sports USA Radio.
Fran Fraschilla returns to NBC Olympics’ basketball coverage as an analyst, reprising his role from the 2016 Rio Olympics. A college basketball coach for 23 years, Fraschilla joined ESPN in 2003 as a college basketball game and studio analyst, and currently serves as an analyst primarily on Big 12 Conference men’s basketball games. He previously worked as an analyst on ESPN’s NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship coverage from 2007-14. As head coach at Manhattan College, St. John’s University, and the University of New Mexico, Fraschilla posted a 176-99 record with eight postseason appearances (three NCAA, five NIT) in nine years.
Kara Lawson, the head coach of the Duke University women’s basketball team since July 2020, makes her NBC Olympics debut this summer in Tokyo as a basketball analyst. She is also coaching the U.S. women’s team in the new Olympic 3x3 basketball competition in Tokyo. Lawson previously was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics (2019-20) after more than a decade working in the media, during which she served as lead analyst on NBC Sports Washington’s Washington Wizards telecasts and provided studio and game commentary for men’s and women’s college basketball and NBA on ESPN. In 2007, she became the first female analyst for a nationally-televised NBA game. Lawson is one of only three NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches to play in an NCAA Final Four, win an Olympic gold medal, and win a WNBA championship.
Monica McNutt will serve as a basketball analyst in her NBC Olympics debut this summer. McNutt has been a studio analyst for women’s basketball for ACC Network since 2019, and also serves as a game analyst for women’s basketball on the network. A former guard at Georgetown University, she previously held numerous on-air positions, including with NBC Sports Washington, MSG Network, ESPN, and FS1.
Candace Parker, a two-time WNBA MVP and two-time college player of year, makes her NBC Olympics debut this summer. Currently playing for the Chicago Sky in her 14th WNBA season, Parker joined Turner Sports in 2018 and serves as an analyst on its NBA on TNT, NBA TV, and NCAA Tournament coverage. Parker led the University of Tennessee to consecutive NCAA Championships in 2007 and 2008, and in October 2008, she became the first player to earn WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season. She led the L.A. Sparks to the 2016 WNBA title and was named WNBA Finals MVP.
Kate Scott will provide basketball play-by-play in her NBC Olympics debut. The host of the morning show on 95.7 FM “The Game” in San Francisco and a play-by-play voice for Pac-12 Networks, Scott was the first woman to call an NFL game on the radio, the first woman to call football for the Pac-12 Networks, the first woman to call a Golden State Warriors game, and in March 2020 on NBCSN served as the play-by-play announcer for the first all-female NHL broadcast in the United States.
This Thursday, June 17 at 12:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN presents coverage of the 2021 Red Bull USA Basketball 3x3 men’s and women’s national competition, which took place at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., from June 12-13. In addition to the crowning of a 3x3 national champion, the event also served as the final evaluation of athletes for selection to the U.S. Women’s 3x3 Olympic Team, which is coached by Lawson.
For a complete archive of Tokyo Olympics press releases, click here.
ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. NBC Olympics is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032. NBC Olympics also produces thousands of hours of Olympic sports programming throughout the year, which is presented on NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms.
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