NBA Reveals Details About Drake Hosting the First-Ever NBA Awards
It’s not exactly a secret that Drake was handpicked by the NBA to host the first-ever NBA Awards at the end of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. Drake himself revealed that he was going to host the award show during an appearance on Kentucky coach John Calipari’s podcast back in late January.
But on Tuesday morning, the NBA made things official by announcing that Drake will, in fact, play host when the awards air at the start of the summer. The league announced that the NBA Awards will be broadcast on TNT on Monday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET. The event will be held at Basketball City at Pier 36 in New York City and will feature presenters handing out the awards for Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player, and NBA Coach of the Year. There will also be several fan-voted awards that will be revealed on TNT’s Inside the NBA on Thursday, April 27.
In addition to shining a spotlight on Drake—who has experience hosting these types of events after stealing the show at the ESPY Awards a few years back—TNT will also integrate appearances from its Inside the NBA studio team into the mix. That means you’ll be seeing even more of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal once the NBA Playoffs end. Additionally, there are going to be a handful of musical performances during the event, and all of the biggest stars from both inside and outside of the NBA are expected to be at the NBA Awards that night.
Stay tuned for more details about the inaugural event.
