Korean celebrities on SPOTV for NBA finals
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, bottom, drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James in the second half in Game 6 of the NBA basketball Finals, Thursday, in Cleveland. / AP-Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
The National Basketball Association’s championship series that has edged to game seven has attracted global attention.
Fans include Korean celebrities who love the sport so much they became temporary TV commentators.
From the start of the NBA finals on June 2 until the sixth game on June 16,
Korean TV cable sport network SPOTV invited four celebrities to comment on the games
between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
HaHa, center, with SPOTV commentators / Courtesy of Instagram
Reggae musician and TV variety show actor HaHa was on hand for the first game, actor Oh Chang-seok joined in the fourth game followed by
basketballer-turned-TV personality Seo Jang-hoon
and
JYP Entertainment CEO Park Jin-young
for games five and six respectively.
“I agreed to take on the commentator role because I thought I was going to the U.S.,” HaHa joked after finishing his day job at the network in Sangam-dong, Seoul.
Oh Chang-seok, second from right, at SPOTV / Courtesy of Instagram
“It is an honor to be part of this game,” Oh said with a play-by-play man and a color commentator by his side.
“I first got to know the Cavaliers’ Andre Iguodala from a video game three years ago. I remember him because of his funny name that kind of sounded like an iguana.”
Seo Jang-hoon, right, at SPOTV / Screen capture from Naver TV Cast
Seo, the former national center who towers 207 centimeters, criticized Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson as he missed a goal from right below a hoop.
Park Jin-young, center, with SPOTV commentators / Courtesy of Instagram
Park’s appearance has drawn the biggest publicity as the well-known hoop-loving musician boasted a substantial level of NBA knowledge and basketball strategies.
The star even asked his co-commentators not to ask about his music life, apparently so he could concentrate on the game. He appears again for game seven.
The finals’ final match is at California’s Oracle Arena on Sunday.