# The Starters
**The Starters** was a daily basketball talk show and podcast that analyzed, and often satirized, the [National Basketball Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-basketball-association). It was hosted by Tas Melas, Phil Elder (known professionally as J.E. Skeets), Trey Kerby, and Leigh Ellis, and it aired on [NBA TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-tv) from October 2013 until Turner declined to renew it in 2019. The show grew out of *The Basketball Jones*, a podcast the group had produced since 2006, and after its television run ended the same team continued as the podcast and vodcast **No Dunks**.[1](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/) • [2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original name | *The Basketball Jones* (TBJ), a podcast begun in January 2006 by Skeets, Melas, and producer Jason Doyle[1](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/) |
| Hosts | Tas Melas, Phil "J.E. Skeets" Elder, Trey Kerby, and Leigh Ellis[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/) |
| Behind the camera | Jason Doyle directed and Matt Osten produced the NBA TV show[1](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/) |
| NBA TV run | Debuted October 2013; 1,000th episode aired in March 2018, about four and a half years in[1](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/) • [3](https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/starters-celebrate-1000th-episode-still-looking-improve-showcase-personalities.html) |
| Output at peak | Five 30-minute television shows per week, plus a weekly podcast and a Twitter-only show[3](https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/starters-celebrate-1000th-episode-still-looking-improve-showcase-personalities.html) |
| End of TV run | Turner did not renew the show for the 2019–20 season, after six years on NBA TV[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/) |
| Successor | *No Dunks*, a daily podcast and vodcast launched with The Athletic in October 2019[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/) • [4](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2021/06/29/Media/Athletic-No-Dunks/) |
## Origins as The Basketball Jones
The core team met at Ryerson University's School of Radio and Television Arts in Toronto, where Skeets, Melas, Doyle, and Osten worked on a fourth-year thesis project together. In January 2006, a year after graduating, Skeets, Melas, and Doyle began a weekly podcast called *The Basketball Jones*, at a time when, as the Ryerson student paper put it, hardly anyone knew what podcasts were. They recorded early each morning before their full-time jobs, and for the first three years nobody on the show was paid.[1](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/)
The early show was minimal: Skeets was a basketball blogger, Melas was a story editor for a Canadian sports network, and Doyle was their producer, recording about half an hour of audio at Doyle's house. After about a year the podcast switched from weekly to daily to keep up with a growing audience, and the crew added a video show alongside the audio version.[1](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/) • [5](https://frontofficesports.com/article/the-fans-and-social-media-propel-nbatvs-the-starters/)
**Social media as an early engine.** The hosts credited social media with keeping the show alive in its unpaid years. Melas told Front Office Sports that real-time feedback told them whether the show was good and how to improve it, and that without it "we wouldn't have a show." The group later worked for The Score in Canada with a daily television show before moving to the NBA's network.[5](https://frontofficesports.com/article/the-fans-and-social-media-propel-nbatvs-the-starters/)
The roster grew over time. Matt Osten, a fellow Canadian, joined early on, followed by the Australian-born Leigh Ellis and the Chicago-born Trey Kerby as contributors and writers who became central to the show. Kerby came to the podcast after working at Yahoo's Ball Don't Lie blog, where Skeets had built his reputation as a basketball blogger.[6](https://awfulannouncing.com/2016/tas-skeets-and-nbatvs-the-starters-celebrate-10-years-fixing-our-basketball-jones.html)
## The Starters on NBA TV
In 2013 the podcast was rebranded as *The Starters* and moved to NBA TV and Turner Sports, with the show based out of Turner's Atlanta headquarters. The daily 30-minute studio show highlighted entertaining moments from around the NBA, looked ahead to upcoming games, and featured unconventional, lighthearted segments mixing pop culture and basketball.[7](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/video-nbatv-crew-welcomes-the-starters-to-the-family/) • [8](https://press.wbd.com/emea/ca/media-release/nba-tv-feature-106-game-schedule-network-debut-players-only-expansive-studio-coverage?language_content_entity=en)
The show was prolific. It aired five 30-minute episodes a week, sometimes on a seven-day schedule, and reached its 1,000th NBA TV episode in March 2018, more than 200 shows per year since 2013. The format stayed light: the four hosts once dressed as Las Vegas showgirls during [NBA Summer League](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-summer-league), and recurring bits included [Charles Barkley](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-barkley) playing "Bucket or Chuck It?" on the set.[3](https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/starters-celebrate-1000th-episode-still-looking-improve-showcase-personalities.html) • [2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/) • [9](https://www.nba.com/thestarters)
John O'Connor, the executive producer who oversaw *The Starters* and NBA TV's other programming, said Turner was drawn to the show because the hosts were, in his description, just like regular basketball fans, and the network let the original members run the show at their own discretion.[1](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/)
## Cancellation and move to The Athletic
In June 2019, The Washington Post reported that *The Starters* would not return to NBA TV for the next basketball season, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. Turner did not renew the group's contract after six years of hosting the show.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/06/10/starters-will-not-return-nba-tv-next-season//) • [2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/)
That October the quartet joined [The Athletic](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-athletic), a subscription sports website, and launched a new daily podcast called *No Dunks*, available outside the paywall and supported by advertisements. The deal, negotiated by CAA representatives, allowed the group to pursue a separate video arrangement, and Elder framed the move as a return to the show's podcasting roots. In 2021, CAA and the talent firm Silver Tribe Media negotiated a multiyear extension that expanded *No Dunks* to include video sales and distribution on YouTube and other platforms, with the group continuing to produce the daily hourlong podcast and vodcast.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/) • [4](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2021/06/29/Media/Athletic-No-Dunks/)
## Format and style
Across its names, the show combined NBA analysis with humor and fan-oriented content. TV Passport described the crew's take on the game as innovative, unconventional, and humorous, supplemented by a blog and podcast. The hosts themselves emphasized personality over pure highlights; Melas said the group's calling card, dating to its unpaid days, was enthusiasm that "hasn't left us."[11](https://www.tvpassport.com/series/the-starters/261132) • [3](https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/starters-celebrate-1000th-episode-still-looking-improve-showcase-personalities.html)
The show also leaned on its audience. Skeets described the fan relationship as one in which viewers effectively helped build the program by sending clips and topics through Twitter and Facebook, and Melas recalled an early email from a listener in Hong Kong as the moment he realized the podcast was providing a genuine daily service to fans abroad.[5](https://frontofficesports.com/article/the-fans-and-social-media-propel-nbatvs-the-starters/)
## References
1. [How a group of Ryerson students climbed to NBA TV, The Eyeopener (2018)](https://theeyeopener.com/2018/03/how-a-group-of-ryerson-students-climbed-to-nba-tv/)
2. [NBA podcasters The Starters to Join The Athletic, The Washington Post (2019)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/starters-will-join-athletic-launch-an-nba-podcast/)
3. [The Starters celebrate 1,000th episode, Awful Announcing (2018)](https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/starters-celebrate-1000th-episode-still-looking-improve-showcase-personalities.html)
4. [The Athletic extends "No Dunks" program, Sports Business Journal (2021)](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2021/06/29/Media/Athletic-No-Dunks/)
5. [The Fans and Social Media Propel NBATV's The Starters, Front Office Sports (2018)](https://frontofficesports.com/article/the-fans-and-social-media-propel-nbatvs-the-starters/)
6. [Tas, Skeets and NBATV's The Starters celebrate 10 years, Awful Announcing (2016)](https://awfulannouncing.com/2016/tas-skeets-and-nbatvs-the-starters-celebrate-10-years-fixing-our-basketball-jones.html)
7. [VIDEO: NBATV crew welcomes 'The Starters' to the family, CBS Sports (2013)](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/video-nbatv-crew-welcomes-the-starters-to-the-family/)
8. [NBA TV 2017-18 programming press release, Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom](https://press.wbd.com/emea/ca/media-release/nba-tv-feature-106-game-schedule-network-debut-players-only-expansive-studio-coverage?language_content_entity=en)
9. [The Starters on NBA TV, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/thestarters)
10. ['The Starters' will not return to NBA TV next season, The Washington Post (2019)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/06/10/starters-will-not-return-nba-tv-next-season//)
11. [The Starters, TV Passport](https://www.tvpassport.com/series/the-starters/261132)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license