Emmy Award-winning commentator Ahmad Rashad will host and executive produce NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad, a new real-life drama television series that will chronicle the lives of today’s larger-than-life NBA stars. The first episode of the weekly 30-minute series, produced by NBA Entertainment and airing on Saturday afternoons, will debut Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006 on ABC (check local listings).

Ahmad Rashad (NBAE Photos)

NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad will present the NBA’s most compelling storylines in the distinctive style of a television drama and provide viewers with first-person perspective of its main characters, which this season will include some of the league’s biggest stars, including Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal, New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson, Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, Orlando Magic forward-center Dwight Howard and New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets rookie Chris Paul. The show will deliver exclusive and unprecedented NBA access, and with such access, will be poised to capture the emotional and engaging storylines that will emerge during the course of the NBA season.

“NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad will offer viewers a peek behind the curtain at the compelling lives of the NBA’s most engaging personalities,” said Rashad. “It is part ER and part Real World as we will follow the characters throughout the season and allow fans to become invested in their stories, told from their first-person perspective.”

Also featured in the series will be the Maloof brothers, the colorful and dynamic owners of the Sacramento Kings and Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni. NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad will also take a broader approach by going behind-the-scenes with two teams throughout the season: the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets. Rashad will host the show from a newly designed set at NBA Entertainment’s studios in Secaucus, N.J., which features a collection of sports fan furnishings from the recently unveiled NBA at Home collection. Rashad will also file reports from various locations, and may interact with the show’s primary characters.

NBA ACCESS with Ahmad Rashad

• NBA ACCESS CHARACTER BIOS • HEAT center Shaquille O’Neal • Nets forward Richard Jefferson • Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas • Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons • Magic forward Dwight Howard • Hornets rookie Chris Paul • Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof • Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni

Debuts January 28 on ABC

Video: Watch the Access trailer

Video: Inside Shaq's House

Video: Premiere Party

In its Saturday afternoon timeslot, NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad will replace NBA Inside Stuff, the weekly magazine show of the NBA hosted by Rashad, which will move to NBA TV, the league’s 24-hour television network, with original episodes airing as part of the network’s Sunday morning kids block, 10 a.m. ET. Inside Stuff co-host Summer Sanders will take over the hosting duties for the show when it moves to NBA TV and Rashad will spend his focus on the new show for ABC.

“Having launched NBA Inside Stuff and having worked on the groundbreaking show for sixteen memorable seasons, we introduced the genre and set the standard for a sports magazine show geared towards teens,” said Rashad. “It has been an incredible experience and a show that I am very proud of, and as we strive to produce cutting edge programming enabling viewers to experience the lives of our compelling athletes as well as the emotional NBA storylines, we look forward to setting a new standard in TV programming with NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad.”

• Ahmad Rashad and Joe Maloof talk about NBA Access.

About Host and Executive Producer Ahmad Rashad
Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Ahmad Rashad was named host and executive producer of the eponymous NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad in December 2005. Prior to the creation of the new series, he served 16 seasons as the host of the acclaimed NBA Inside Stuff. Throughout the 2005 NBA Finals, Rashad hosted NBA TV: Live at the Finals.

A six-time Emmy nominee in five different categories, Rashad also brings his NBA expertise to the ESPN/ABC NBA team, reporting on lifestyle features and essays for both networks. He will also be in-studio for ABC Sports’ NBA pre-game show and co-host the network’s 2006 NBA Finals’ pre-game show. In 2003, Rashad was named host for ABC’s top-rated reality show, Celebrity Mole. Rashad gained national recognition for his on-air work with NBC Sports where he joined the network in 1983 as NFL commentator and host for NBC’s SportsWorld. In 1988, he served as a studio anchor during NBC’s coverage of the Seoul Summer Olympics and later won an Emmy for writing.