It’s a tough time to pay the bills with an ad read when you’re talking about the death of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo.
TNT broadcaster Ian Eagle interrupted Stan Van Gundy while he talked about his brother Jeff’s former player in Mutombo, who passed away at the age of 58 from brain cancer in September.
“Of course, the NBA world just had a tough loss with Dikembe Mutombo’s passing,” Van Gundy said on the telecast of the Lakers’ 110-103 win over the Timberwolves.
“NBA on TNT, brought to you by the Kia Telluride X-line. Kia, the official automotive partner of the NBA,” Eagle interjected at the beginning of a sad conversation.
“Yeah, that was terrible news in regards to Dikembe, who has been such an ambassador of the game in addition to his Hall of Fame career.”
As Eagle interrupted, the TNT broadcast panned to a broader image of the Kia logo next to a TNT Sports emblem while Minnesota center Rudy Gobert prepared to shoot free throws.
The awkward exchange, which was criticized by some for being insensitive, occurred in the opening quarter of the nightcap of the NBA’s two-game Opening Night slate.
“Did they just interrupt a mutombo remembrance to do an nba on tnt ad read,” X account @2Ajit2Tweet posted.
Mutombo played in the NBA for 19 seasons, which included eight All-Star selections and four Defensive Player of the Year awards.
He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2015 and tallied the second-most blocks in league history.
Kia, meanwhile, has been a sponsor of the NBA since 2007. The company was paying the NBA roughly $12 million per year in its previous deal that expired in 2021, according to sportsbusiness.com.