Ahmad Rashad (left) and Willow Bay co-hosted Inside Stuff from 1991-98.

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Long before debates took national center stage about whether professional athletes could compete in other sports, former NFL star Ahmad Rashad was way ahead of the curve. He didn’t merely talk about it, he actually did it – at the highest of levels –more than three decades ago.

“I played in an NBA preseason game and made a basket,” said Rashad, who made a 20-foot jumper in his lone field goal attempt in a preseason game for the Philadelphia 76ers. “That’s something even to this day, Michael [Jordan] and I tease each other about that. I’ll say, ‘I’ve done basketball and shot 1,000%.’ And no matter what he accomplished, he never caught a pass in an NFL game.”

Why did Rashad sign a two-day contract and suit up for the 76ers in a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 1990?

It was a brilliant promotional stunt to introduce the world to Rashad — not as the football guy, but as the host of a revolutionary new all-access basketball show, NBA Inside Stuff, produced by NBA Entertainment.

NBA Inside Stuff originally aired on NBC from 1990-2002, then on ABC from 2002-2006, and later on NBA TV (2013-2018). It was one of the most influential and important sports shows in sports television history and is the latest recipient of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award.

“With Inside Stuff, the NBA was hoping that they could connect in a broader way with young culture, that young people could see that these players were multidimensional,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Ahmad Rashad is introduced wearing a 76ers warmup before a 1990 NBA game at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Airing on NBC every Saturday morning, the teen-targeted program was a mix of pop culture and music, showcasing an inside look at the lives of NBA stars. For a generation of 90s kids, those 30 minutes every Saturday offered the very first glimpse of the new NBA.

“This is before there was ever an internet or social media – that they [fans] could see the off-the-court interests, lifestyles of players and find ways to connect with them, which would ultimately bring them to the sport of basketball,” Silver said.

Rashad, the former Pro Bowl receiver turned television personality, became the face of the show and its main man. His relatable persona was responsible for the show’s hip vibe, high energy and catchphrases.

The combination of the affable Rashad and co-host Willow Bay was the foundation for the show’s success.

“Our relationship really defined that thing called chemistry,” said Bay, who co-hosted the show from 1991-98 after taking over for Julie Moran, who hosted the show during its inaugural season in 1990-91. Bay currently serves as the Dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “And it’s almost hard to capture in words what that is like, but you know it by the feeling.

“We had fun,” Bay said. “We laughed until tears streamed down our faces. We are so different, with very different temperaments, yet the collision of those two at the desk, on our set, really created something special.”

Bay was the perfect foil for Rashad, who at times could be unpredictable, yet knew he had the ultimate safety net should things go a tad sideways.

“She was just perfect,” Rashad said. “She was so intelligent. If I was driving, I could just take my hands off that wheel and she could keep us right in the lane. Just keep us driving because I was bouncing off the wall a lot of the time.”

The show would take Rashad and Bay all over the world for the most authentic and personal inside look at NBA stars, which usually took place on the player’s home turf.

“I rode in players’ cars,” Bay said. “I ate at their favorite spots. I went to see their moms. I went to see their high schools. I went bowling. I played golf.

“We had an opportunity to share players’ lives, hobbies, and passions in a way that was revolutionary,” Bay said. “Now, you see it on their Instagram feeds all the time. Inside Stuff was unique in offering that kind of access to fans and our viewers.”

No matter the location, it was the ultimate fly-on-the-wall perspective for the viewer. Rashad always set the tone of any shoot: Keep it loose, keep it spontaneous and make sure the camera is always rolling. Always.

“With Ahmad, it was always about fun,” said Andy Thompson, who served as a senior producer on the show. “He would always say, ‘We have to make this fun. It’s gotta move. We can’t bog this down and make it traditional like we see in all of the other interviews.’”

Don Sperling, the show’s executive producer, knew star appeal when he saw it.

“That on-camera likability, magnetism, was always there with him,” Sperling said. “You saw it with the way he engaged with people in live situations: The players, the fans. He had the ‘it’ factor. Plus, he was a real fan.”

The energetic Rashad was also quick on his feet. Months before Shaquille O’Neal made his highly anticipated NBA debut with Orlando Magic in 1992, Rashad visited the Diesel in Los Angeles for an Inside Stuff feature – a friendly game of one-on-one – at the Sports Club LA.

Little did anyone know, the first-ever viral NBA moment would emerge, nearly two decades before they would become an everyday occurrence.

Grant Hill #31 of the Detroit Pistons plays the piano.

“I’m going to show you what it’s gonna be like in the NBA,” said Rashad as he dribbled around O’Neal before hitting a 12-foot jumper from the left side of the basket.

Now, it was O’Neal’s turn.

“I can tell now, he’s really going to try to get me, back me down and dunk on me,” Rashad said. “I tried to put my hand on him and he dunked.”

O’Neal maneuvered around Rashad and threw down a ferocious two-handed slam that shattered the backboard as he fell flat on his back.

A collective gasp (and panic) ensued from the production crew in the gym. Everyone was nervous that O’Neal was severely hurt. Rashad and the producers immediately rushed to assess if O’Neal was okay as they picked up pieces of glass strewn across his body.

“Yeah, why? Yeah, I’m good,” O’Neal said.

Rashad quickly audibled, insisting the cameras keep rolling.

“Hold it, hold it! Move, move, move!”

Rashad closed in on O’Neal’s left side, tapped him on the shoulder and said:

“Is that all you got?”

The camera crew cackled. Even O’Neal found it amusing.

“I’ve dunked on that goal a million fricking times,” O’Neal said. “I think this was the basketball gods allowing earthlings and humans to see the power that I was coming with.

“The funny thing was, everybody was like, ‘Are you OK?’ Everyone was scared,” O’Neal said. “Ahmad, being the genius that he is, is like, ‘You ok? Roll the cameras.’”

It was pure basketball gold that immediately needed to be distributed as widely and as fast as possible.

“When Don (Sperling) gave the video to NBC and it aired on NBC Nightly News the next day, everybody in the sports and entertainment world took that clip and it went all over the world,” Thompson said. “That’s the first viral NBA moment in NBA history and it happened while filming Inside Stuff.”

Not everything was fun and upbeat. Serious topics were also addressed, from Magic Johnson announcing in 1991 that he was HIV positive to a player discussing mental health disorders, sensitive subjects were educational opportunities that the show embraced.

“I remember Rick Fox sharing that after really struggling through college and being tagged as that kid who couldn’t pay attention or would wander off and not focus the way he needed to focus, that he was diagnosed with ADD,” Bay said. “For Rick to share his personal experience with ADD was unusual then. Now, we think of it as commonplace. That was a breakthrough and really powerful to hear his story.”

Providing a forum for players to open up in a safe place was critically important. A strong relationship between the players and the league was essential.

“None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for the connections and the relationships that Leah Wilcox of our player relations department had with every major star in the NBA,” Thompson said. “All of our shoots had to have Leah involved because the players loved and trusted her.”

Whether it was an unassuming John Stockton roaming the crowded streets of Barcelona during the 1992 Olympics and interviewing tourists, Patrick Ewing visiting street vendors and the FAO Schwarz toy store in New York City, or Tim Duncan swimming in a pool at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the access not only provided fans with a rare glimpse of their favorite players away from the court but also forged a deeper connection with them as well.

“In Toronto, Dale Davis and I did yoga together,” said Summer Sanders, who succeeded Bay as co-host from 1998-2006. “I remember the yoga instructor was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve never seen such a tall downward dog.’ I just loved the fact that we got to shine a light on the players and so many of them watched and cared about the show.”

Given the varied off-court interests of the players, inventory was always in plenty of supply.

“We never ran out of stories to feature on the show,” said Kori Davis Porter, who served a variety of roles on the show, including senior producer. “It was such an awesome experience to showcase their personalities, talents, and hobbies.”

NBA Entertainment’s mission was not only to showcase the players off the court but to build a collaborative working relationship built on unprecedented access and, most importantly, trust.

“We know you’re a great player, that’s why you’re here,” Wilcox said. “But who are you away from the game? What are your interests?

“My role was to educate the players on A) we are your coworkers. We’re in this together and B) introduce them to this amazing production group,” Wilcox said. “We’re your in-house production team. That was key; convincing them that we’re not out to get a story.”

“Everybody wanted to be a part of the show,” said Wilcox, who also played a key role in securing celebrities courtside, delivering the catchy, “Now, that’s the Inside Stuff!”

Coming off a decorated four-year career at Duke, Grant Hill’s popularity continued to skyrocket after being selected with the third overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft. Receiving the call that he was going to be spotlighted on NBA Inside Stuff was an important basketball rite of passage for the All-American.

“A lot was happening for me that summer,” said Hill, who served as co-host along with Kristen Ledlow for the relaunch of NBA Inside Stuff on NBA TV in 2013. “I went through all of the pre-draft preparation. I signed a shoe deal. I signed a rookie card deal and then I got drafted. What was right up there at the top of the list in terms of excitement was having a chance to be featured on Inside Stuff. It was like, ‘Man, I’ve arrived. I’m official.’ I felt special.”

And so were the incredible highlights, packaged with the latest hip-hop music. Popular weekly features such as “Jam Session”, recapped the most electric dunks of the week and “Rewind”, which looked back at the top action (and the latest bloopers) from the previous week, punctuated by Rashad’s enthusiastic enunciation: “MONDAAAAAY!! … TUUUUESDAY!! …. WEDNESDAY!!”

“We had the hottest music at the time,” Wilcox said. “We were taking highlights and putting it to music. That was unique and what was trending at the time. It was like, ‘Let’s go with it,’ and the players knew we were that outlet.”

The idea to tap into this young demographic with a magazine-type show emerged from discussions with the league’s new broadcast partner, NBC, in 1989.

“David Stern was negotiating with NBC, and [Stern] had a number of things he wanted, and one of them was to have a show that we [the NBA] had complete control of, on the network,” said Ken Rosen, who produced and directed the show the first four years.

The NBA and NBC alliance was unlike any other in the history of league and broadcast partnerships at that time, especially from a scheduling, production and promotion standpoint.

“Dick Ebersol (President of NBC Sports) and David wanted to take this partnership to another level,” Sperling said. “How do we go out and make this bigger than just watching games on certain days of the week? Let’s create a flagship show that really connects with younger fans and cultivate that audience.”

“The idea was for Inside Stuff to be a cultural show featuring players and stories and driving that narrative as something that’s cool that people would want to be a part of,” Rosen said. “That’s how simple it was, and it worked.”

Summer Sanders from NBA Inside Stuff talks healthy eating with Jamal Mashburn.

NBA Entertainment came up with the show’s pilot and pitched it to NBC, which was greenlit, and the network found a home for the innovative show in the coveted Saturday morning programming slot.

NBA Inside Stuff followed Saved By the Bell, the popular teen-based show, which delivered a robust lead-in audience.

Brandon Tartikoff, who was president of NBC Entertainment, recommended the 11:30 a.m. time slot, which was a transition point into the network’s sports programming block, which usually started around noon or 1 p.m.

Groundbreaking is a recurring theme and a significant part of Inside Stuff’s legacy. In addition to on-air hosting duties, Rashad played a leading role behind the scenes, serving as the executive producer and managing editor, which helped break the glass ceiling for African Americans in those executive roles.

“It was a wonderful thing, and hopefully it set an example for younger African American kids to say, ‘Hey, man, I can do that. There’s a chance for me to go and do that,’” Rashad said.

“The people who were responsible for that were David Stern and Adam Silver,” Rashad said. “They were adamant about it. They held me responsible, which I really, really loved. They had faith in me, in doing what I wanted to do and they were stepping out going, ‘OK.’

“You know, there was no color factor there.”

While Rashad embraced his many responsibilities, Bay also played a pioneering role for women in sports media.

“Ahmad’s role was groundbreaking. Frankly, so was putting a woman in such a visible, equal role to her male co-host,” Bay said.

“To this day, women come up to me, people come up to me, and say, ‘That was trailblazing.’ We forget there weren’t very many women with that visibility in sports. There were a lot of talented women covering sports: Hannah Storm, Lesley Visser on the sidelines, for example. But to have a woman for that long in a significant partner role in sports was also groundbreaking.”

It’s been more than three decades since NBA Inside Stuff debuted and set the standard for player access, serving as the ultimate marketing vehicle during the league’s ascent in the 90s. Yet, its impact still resonates.

“Not one day goes by in my life that somebody doesn’t come out and say, ‘I grew up watching Inside Stuff,’” Rashad said.

It’s also been 30-plus years since Rashad wore a Sixers uniform.

“Do you think an NBA coach would allow me to play a week with his team?” Rashad inquired. “Do you think that would happen now? I don’t think so.

“The funny thing is, I can play,” Rashad said. “It sort of brought me in the fraternity of the NBA players. It reinforced the fact that this football-playing guy is one of our guys.”

And yet another unique example of NBA Inside Stuff bringing viewers into a fraternity of NBA players with unprecedented access and storytelling, which left an indelible mark on television history.

“Inside Stuff, starting with the original version with Ahmad Rashad, changed the course of the way that we cover basketball,” said Kristen Ledlow, who co-hosted with Grant Hill from 2013-2018.

“It changed its consumption and it changed the fans’ perspectives of basketball’s biggest stars. That, to me, is its biggest legacy.”

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This story originally appeared in the 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame program.

John Hareas is the Vice President, Editorial and Daily Content Management for the National Basketball Association.