For the second time in just seven days, NBC’s NBA broadcast plunged fans into total chaos, leaving millions at home scratching their heads in disbelief. As the postseason intensifies, the league’s media partners appear to be struggling to keep up, with a growing number of broadcasting errors.

This time, it happened during Game 2 of the first-round series between the Hawks and the Knicks. Late in the game, after CJ McCollum missed a free throw, the scoreboard incorrectly updated the Knicks’ timeout count. It displayed an available timeout for Mike Brown, suggesting they would have a chance to draw up a final play. NBC’s announcers appeared to influence the confusion, reinforcing the incorrect information on air.

But in actuality, the Knicks had used all of their timeouts. So, when they pushed the ball up the floor, everybody was confused. Some fans turned against Brown for opting not to use his final timeout when, in reality, there never was one. For the second time in one week, the NBA’s broadcast partner displayed an incorrect graphic in the final moments.

At first, when McCollum went to the charity stripe, the broadcast correctly displayed no timeouts for the New York Knicks. However, NBC announcers Jamal Crawford and Noah Eagle were certain Brown had one in his pocket. That’s when the scorecard updated to show an additional timeout for the Knicks. Even the announcers expressed surprise that Brown opted against a timeout.

An incorrect graphic won’t mislead coaches and players at the arena. However, fans are appealing to Adam Silver to improve broadcast accuracy, as it is inconvenient for those watching from home.

NBA fans are getting frustrated by graphic errors

Fans watching games live in arenas rarely see inaccurate information. Most of the Knicks’ fandom at MSG knew the team had to run hard for the final play. But the fans watching at home? “Awful, didn’t know if they had a TO or not,” one fan wrote about the error.

It’s frustrating to be misled by such errors. Imagine being a Knicks fan and watching your team not use a timeout when it had an opportunity to win the game? Fans would be boiling over their team’s complacency. “So, Mike Brown is getting fried on the timeline for no reason,” a fan realized.

What’s more infuriating for fans is the recurrence of such errors across different platforms. At first, it was Amazon Prime. They also incorrectly displayed an additional timeout for the Miami Heat during their Play-In thriller against the Charlotte Hornets.

“Twice in one week. At some point, you have to ask if anyone’s actually watching before it goes on screen. Playoff stakes are too high for this,” a fan wrote.

However, that wasn’t all; during overtime of that same game, Prime’s coverage cut off due to a technical difficulty. Even LeBron James took to X to direct attention to the shocking error. “The graphics been wrong multiple times too. This is terrible production,” another aggrieved fan noted.

It’s reached a point where some fans are demanding that TNT join as media partners instead of NBC and Prime, because while the new partners have made errors, ESPN remains spotless. In that regard, a fan mentioned, “I know ESPN’s like you might not like our product, but we don’t make rookie mistakes”.

To some degree, it’s understandable for Amazon Prime to make mistakes. It’s their first season of broadcasting the NBA, so their mistakes are more forgivable. But NBC was the iconic home of the NBA since the time Michael Jordan and the Bulls were a dynasty.

Fans don’t expect such lapses from a well-experienced broadcaster in the sport of basketball. The errors, although irrelevant to the proceedings, paint a false image for the fans at home.

It’s a minor inconvenience that has caused great discomfort to fans. Hopefully, now that fans have brought it to attention, broadcasters will correct these issues moving forward.