NBA debuts ‘ManningCast’-style show for Lakers vs. Timberwolves game
An alternate, ‘ManningCast’-style show is coming to the NBA.
The league is launching a telecast Thursday night called “Courtside Crawsover” for the Minnesota Timberwolves-Los Angeles Lakers game, hosted by three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and former MLB player Dexter Fowler.
The telecast will be available on NBA League Pass and will also feature guests across sports and pop culture. Six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin and rapper Wale are scheduled to join the pilot Thursday; guests for subsequent telecasts are being finalized.
Comparisons to ESPN’s popular ‘ManningCast’ — an alternate NFL telecast hosted by brothers and former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning — are inevitable. Crawford called the show “the gold standard,” but Fowler insisted that their telecast is going to be “a standalone on its own” and not “anything like what they have” because of the focus on lifestyle and pop culture.
“I thought this could give a different twist, just to be with somebody you’re really cool with and almost make it like we’re watching the game with the consumer and the fan,” Crawford told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “You’re putting us right there with you on your couch, like you’re sitting at the barbershop. Yeah, we’re going to break down the game, but we’re going to bring so many more elements to it.”
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Crawford said the conversation will not be “as scripted” as other alternate telecasts, adding that they will rely on feel and flow for direction. Within that, a variety of topics — sports, music, fashion, lifestyle — are all up for discussion.
“We want to have fun with it,” Fowler told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “It’s more about lifestyle and everything under the sun; that’s why we’re calling it the ‘Crawsover.’ Having people come on and get them out of their comfort zone. It’s going to be lighthearted and it’s going to be fun, but you’re still going to learn.”
As the NBA has experienced a slight decline in television viewership this season, per Nielsen, “Courtside Crawsover” is slated for select games over the remainder of the regular season, including March 21 (Rockets-Heat) and April 4 (Cavaliers-Spurs).
The launch is part of a larger effort the NBA is making to reach new audiences with altcasts; the league has been producing “HooperVision” — a basketball-centric offering that Crawford has occasionally co-hosted alongside Quentin Richardson — and will also produce “CoachCast,” a strategy-oriented offering co-hosted by former NBA coaches and assistants Derek Fisher, Phil Handy and Adrian Griffin.
“Alternate telecasts have been a core part of our efforts to elevate the live game viewing experience for fans on NBA League Pass for years,” Sara Zuckert, the NBA’s head of Next Gen Telecast, told USA TODAY Sports in an emailed statement.
Facing criticism about the volume of three-point shooting, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has pushed back on what he has called a “frustrating” narrative about viewership, arguing that conventional television ratings are an insufficient measure of the overall engagement in the league. Silver has pointed to the recently signed 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal, social media impressions and in-person attendance as essential factors in the discussion.
“From that standpoint, record popularity,” Silver said Feb. 15 during his annual press conference at the All-Star Game. “I don’t even know what you could even compare to us at this time, where we’re looking at a social media community that is estimated to be around two-and-a-half-billion people engaging in some way with our league and our players. And then there’s new platforms like podcasts, which are becoming increasingly popular. …
“Now, how do you blend all those things together? I think that’s the really tough question and I think that’s something we are focused on right now.”
Crawford, who has been an analyst for TNT’s NBA coverage, was also named the lead analyst for NBC’s coverage of the league when that new media rights deal kicks off in October 2025. Although the pairing with Fowler, a former outfielder with one All-Star appearance, may initially seem unconventional, Crawford said it was intentional.
‘Dex loves basketball, so for me it was like, why not Dexter Fowler?” Crawford said. “Because if I get another basketball guy, it’s like, ‘OK, that’s his friend, they’re basketball guys on camera talking about basketball.’ But (Fowler) may give some insight or different perspective about how they prepare or how they train. …
“I thought he would make it so it’s not too much basketball. He has a great sense of humor, he knows when to laugh. He may say something that he sees in a simple way that makes sense to me and everybody else, because a lot of people could be watching the game for one of the first times, or learning the game.”
Added Fowler: “It’s just thinking outside the box. I think of stuff that the regular fan probably thinks about.”
Fowler, who played basketball in high school and received an offer to play at Harvard, has appeared on Marquee Sports Network’s Chicago Cubs coverage and has also contributed to MLB Network and Turner’s baseball coverage. Turner was where Fowler eventually linked up with Crawford, who approached Fowler about the idea.
To prepare for Thursday’s launch, both have been doing reads and mock performances to develop their chemistry, timing and flow.
“I think, for us, the conversations are the star,” Crawford said. “It’s not me or Dex.
“I think the one thing that’s constant in any successful alt-cast is being organic, having a good time and not keeping it strictly about whatever you’re watching. Taking the audience on a ride and journey.”
The Timberwolves-Lakers game will tip off Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET. There will be no traditional pregame or postgame coverage, and League Pass subscribers can tune in to the “Crawsover” stream then.
