Getty Image / TNT
Stan Van Gundy paid tribute to the late, great Dikembe Mutombo when the Lakers faced off against the Timberwolves on TNT on Tuesday night, but what should have been a touching moment got very awkward courtesy of a poorly timed ad read.
At the end of September, the basketball world lost an absolute legend when Dikembe Mutombo passed away at the age of 58 following a private battle with brain cancer.
The literal and figurative giant of the game was one of the most widely beloved figures in the sport (I was lucky enough to experience the warmth he was known for exuding during the incredibly enjoyable conversation we had a couple of years before he left us), as he was not only a phenomenally talented and entertaining player but a selfless humanitarian who devoted his life to making the world a better place than when he entered it.
During the first quarter of the opening night showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert got sent to the free-throw line, and TNT play-by-play guy Ian Eagle used that development as an opportunity to note the most recent NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner joined Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only people to earn that honor on four separate occasions.
That tidbit served as a very natural segue to the topic of Mutombo’s passing, and while Stan Van Gundy did what he could to pay tribute to the big man, those efforts were derailed when Eagle interrupted him with an ad read plugging the Kia Telluride X-Line while reminding viewers the carmaker is “the official automotive partner of the NBA.”
Some kind words for Dikembe Mutombo as well as some kind words for the Kia Telluride X-Line. pic.twitter.com/07z2qERRTp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 23, 2024
I’m not going to blame Eagle for doing his job, as broadcasters are tasked with checking off a ton of contractually obligated sponsorships over the course of a game and this ultimately just comes down to a case of some wildly poor timing.
However, based on the optics, I have a feeling the folks at Kia would have been more than fine with having that ad pushed to a little bit later.