Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Danny Ainge & Jayne Kennedy to reunite for a special August 13 Magic vs. Nuggets broadcast presentation on Prime Video (5:30 PM ET/3:30 PM MT) | NBA: Summer Series -- "Throwback" Series

A custom-made wallpaper that highlights Thursday’s Magic-Nuggets throwback broadcast with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Danny Ainge, & Jayne Kennedy. (Tamir Moore/Canva)

| ⏵ Sunday, August 9, 2026

🟌 Highlights:
  • Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Danny Ainge, & Jayne Kennedy — the Summer Series’ lead announcing team from 1985-1990 — to reunite for special one-off Orlando Magic vs. Denver Nuggets game broadcast on Thursday, August 13 (5:30 PM ET, Prime Video).
  • Thursday’s Magic-Nuggets game marks the sixth of 16 throwback broadcasts to celebrate the NBA: Summer Series 50th anniversary season.
  • Pregame coverage begins at 5:00 PM ET with NBA on Prime Pregame presented by CarMax, with the game immediately followed by NBA Nightcap presented by Wayfair at 8:00 PM ET.

Prime Video announced on Sunday that the commentator team of Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst), Danny Ainge (analyst), and Jayne Kennedy (reporter) will reunite to call the game between the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets on Thursday, August 13. The broadcast begins at 5:30 PM ET/3:30 PM MT on Prime Video and is part of the season-long “Throwback” series, which revives classic announcer pairings to celebrate the Summer Series’ 50th anniversary.

In fact, this is the first of two throwback broadcasts on Prime this week, with Kevin Harlan reuniting with analysts Tyronn Lue and Allan Houston for Celtics-Raptors on Saturday afternoon. For more information about that telecast, please consult the following link.

Nantz, Raftery, Ainge, & Kennedy previously served as the Summer Series top broadcasting team for six seasons between 1985-1990, calling regular-season games, playoffs, the Conference Finals, and the NBA Finals. On September 6, 1990, Nantz, Raftery, Ainge, & Kennedy called their last game together as a broadcast team when they called Game 5 of the 1990 NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Portland Trail Blazers. Detroit would win that game to claim the franchise’s second consecutive NBA championship. Now, 13,125 days later, this commentary team gets one more opportunity to call an NBA game.

Here are bios for each Summer Series commentator involved in this throwback broadcast:

Jim Nantz — Play-By-Play:

Jim Nantz is CBS Sports’ main NFL and golf announcer, having first joined the network in 1985. He has been the lead NFL announcer since 2004 and has covered golf for CBS since 1986. His prior work includes college football, college basketball, the NBA, tennis, and the Olympic Winter Games, among other events. Nantz commented on plenty of Summer Series telecasts in the late 1980s and early 1990s (1985-1990).

 

Bill Raftery — Game Analyst:

Bill Raftery is the primary college basketball analyst for CBS Sports, working alongside Ian Eagle, Grant Hill, and Tracy Wolfson. Raftery joined CBS in 1983 and has served as both a game analyst and a play-by-play announcer. The 2025-26 season marks his 43rd with the network. He has also worked for Fox Sports since 2013, covering regular-season and Big East Tournament games with commentators like Gus Johnson and Tim Brando. Previously, Raftery worked with ESPN, notably on Big Monday games with Sean McDonough and Jay Bilas. Raftery covered NBA Summer Series games from 1985-1995.


Danny Ainge — Game Analyst:

Danny Ainge serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz after previously holding a front office position with the Boston Celtics. Ainge, a second-round pick by the Celtics back in 1981, played in the NBA for 14 seasons, winning two NBA championships with the Celtics (1984 and 1986). Following his NBA playing career, Ainge briefly called games for Turner Sports from 2000-03, primarily working with the great Kevin Harlan and the late John Thompson. Ainge served as a game analyst for Summer Series games from 1985-1995.


Jayne Kennedy — Sideline Reporter:

Jayne Kennedy is a trailblazing icon in the field of sports media. Kennedy really first came to national attention when she co-hosted CBS Sports’ NFL Today pregame show in the late 1970s, becoming one of the first African American women to hold a nationally prominent position like that. Of course, Kennedy served as the longest-tenured Summer Series sideline reporter, covering the sidelines for 40 years (1977-2016), including 26 as lead sideline reporter.


Pregame coverage for Magic vs. Nuggets begins at 5:00 PM ET with “NBA on Prime Pregame presented by CarMax” on Prime Video with Taylor Rooks (host), three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem (analyst), Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Steve Nash (analyst) and Dirk Nowitzki (analyst), six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin (analyst), and Chris Haynes (insider). Nantz, Raftery, Ainge, & Kennedy will appear on the pregame show to reminisce about their time together back in the day. Following the game, stay tuned for NBA Nightcap presented by Wayfair, beginning at 8:00 PM ET on Prime Video.



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