Amazon Prime Video has chosen Taylor Rooks, Blake Griffin, and Dirk Nowitzki as the founding members of its NBA studio coverage.
During a one-on-one interview with Front Office Sports, Rooks said she’s thrilled to work with the two NBA legends-turned-analysts. The NBA on Prime’s inaugural studio coverage will originate from a Los Angeles–based studio starting in the 2025–2026 season.
The gregarious 35-year-old Griffin has proved to be “hilarious and entertaining” off the court in his various entertainment ventures, said Rooks. Meanwhile, she notes the iconic 46-year-old Nowitzki can dissect the growing influence of European players on The Association—and help the giant streamer appeal to international viewers.
“We’re really excited about the opportunity to build a show from the ground up. That is for the basketball fan, that is entertaining, that is informative, that is different,” said Rooks on Monday.
“As a host, besides my job being letting everybody shine, we want to have fun. We want to create a product that everybody wants to be a part of. That’s appointment viewing. That builds an NBA community. Something I know for sure at Amazon is: We really believe in going big. And we always have the audience in mind. It’s what I’ve been a part of with Thursday Night Football. To be able to bring that over to the NBA is just super-exciting. Because the NBA is about the fans, it’s about the stories, it’s about the culture, it’s about the players, it’s about the commentary. It’s such an immersive sport now.”
Griffin, who electrified NBA fans as a six-time All-Star and was seen as one of the league’s greatest dunkers, pointed to Prime’s successful coverage of the NFL as a template to follow with the NBA.
“I have been incredibly impressed with Amazon’s NFL programming for Thursday Night Football, and my conversations with the team around the NBA partnership have been equally inspiring,” said Griffin in a statement.
Nowitzki, the 2006–2007 MVP who is the NBA’s sixth-leading all-time scorer, welcomes the chance to analyze hoops after 21 seasons in the leagues. “I am excited to join the Amazon family and honored to be a part of its NBA coverage,” he said in a statement. “I have always wanted to remain close to the game that I love and building something new alongside this talented crew is an experience I look forward to. I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity and cannot wait to get started.”
In 2022, FOS broke the news that Prime wanted Rooks for TNF. Landing Prime’s first NBA hosting gig marks a “career milestone,” she says. Starting in 2025, Rooks will have key roles in Prime’s NBA and NFL coverage. She also serves as a host/reporter at Bleacher Report and TNT Sports. But after finishing this NBA season with TNT in June, she’ll work for Prime moving forward. In the coming months, look for Prime to add more reporters and analysts to its NBA coverage team.
Prime is attractive to the NBA for the same reason it’s the apple of the NFL’s eye: TNF has demonstrated its ability to attract an audience seven years younger on average than the NFL’s traditional linear TV partners. Additionally, Prime’s massive audience of more than 200 million global subscribers can be targeted with special online sales.
Rooks predicts Prime’s NBA coverage will also attract a younger audience of hoopheads.
“I’m 32. I think I’m somebody who’s really come up with that young NBA fan. Social media obviously plays a big role. I’ve built a lot of my career with interviews I was doing with B/R and TNT on YouTube. I’ve been very active on a lot of platforms. I’m very interactive with people. I understand what younger fans want to see—but also what they don’t want to see.”
In early 2024, Rooks teamed with Joy Taylor of Fox Sports to launch a podcast called Two Personal. Rooks since stepped away from the show due to her multiple job responsibilities. I asked her about the controversial lawsuit naming Taylor, former FS1 star Skip Bayless, FS1 EVP Charlie Dixon, and Fox Sports. She demurred.
“It’s completely independent of me. So I don’t really have a comment on it,” Rooks said.
FOS first broke the news that Griffin was in talks with Prime and NBC Sports. NBA insider Marc Stein first reported Nowitzki was heading to Prime to launch his broadcast career. Richard Deitsch of The Athletic first reported Rooks was poised to land the role as lead host of Prime’s NBA coverage.
