ESPN 3D will televise the 2011 NBA Finals in its entirety come June.
The 3D telecasts will mark the initial time the pro basketball league's championship will be presented in the enhanced format, and will serve to cap the network's first year in operation. Sister service ABC is the broadcast home of The Finals.
Launching on June 11 with the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup between South Africa and Mexico, ESPN 3D, which expanded to a 24-hour format on Valentine's Day, will present some 100 live events during its rookie year. Yesterday, the network announced it would be supplying five days of coverage from The Masters golf tournament from Augusta, Ga. in April.
The 3D Finals fare also culminates the network's NBA coverage, which tipped off with LeBron James's first visit as a member of the Miami Heat to Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks on Dec. 17, 2010. Subsequently, ESPN 3D has aired a half-dozen other NBA contests in the format.
Its next contest: Oklahoma City at Orlando on Feb 25 at 8 p.m. That will be followed by select regular-season contests, early-round playoff matches and the first four games of the Western Conference finals.
Check out ESPN 3D's NBA schedule below:
Date Time (ET) Game
Fri, Feb 25 8 p.m. Oklahoma City at Orlando
Fri, Mar 4 7 p.m. Chicago at Orlando
Wed, Mar 16 8 p.m. Oklahoma City at Miami
Fri, Apr 1 8 p.m. Boston at Atlanta
TBD TBD NBA Playoffs (First Round) - Game 1
TBD TBD NBA Playoffs (First Round) - Game 4
TBD TBD NBA Playoffs (Conference Semifinals) - Game 2
TBD TBD Western Conference Finals - Game 1
TBD TBD Western Conference Finals - Game 2
TBD TBD Western Conference Finals - Game 4
Thurs, Jun 2 9 p.m. Finals (Game 1)
Sun, Jun 5 8 p.m. Finals (Game 2)
Tues, Jun 7 9 p.m. Finals (Game 3)
Thurs, Jun 9 9 p.m. Finals (Game 4)
Sun, Jun 12 8 p.m. Finals (Game 5)
Tues, Jun 14 9 p.m. Finals (Game 6)
Thurs, Jun 16 9 p.m. Finals (Game 7)
