NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad Premieres Saturday, Jan. 28, on ABC; Emmy Award Winner Ahmad Rashad Spotlights NBA Star Center Shaquille O'Neal and Sacramento Kings Owners Joe and Gavin Maloof in Debut of Real-Life Drama Series.

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Emmy Award winner Ahmad Rashad will debut his new real-life drama television series, NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad, on ABC on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 1 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT (check local listings). Rashad will serve as host and executive producer of this new series that will present the NBA's most compelling storylines in a distinctive style featuring a first person perspective. NBA All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings owner Joe and Gavin Maloof, along with Denver Nuggets Head Coach George Karl, will be spotlighted during the series' premiere.

"NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad will capture the emotional and engaging stories that will emerge during the course of the NBA season," says Rashad. "Shaq, Joe and Gavin, Coach Karl and the other characters are dynamic individuals, each one offering a unique - and distinct - perspective for viewers of life in and around the NBA."

In the first episode, Rashad will look at the role of family in the NBA. Sacramento Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof may appear to lead the life of luxury, but NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad reveals that the brothers are blue collar at heart, thanks to the lessons taught them by their late father, family patriarch George Maloof, Sr.

"I'd love to be like my dad," says Gavin in the premiere as he is seen standing before a statue of his father in Albuquerque. "He was a nice person. He was great to everybody."

Older brother Joe shares his younger brother's sentiments about their father: "He could talk to the guy on the street, the President of the United States. He could have a great conversation with anyone."

While the Maloofs are seen flying back and forth across the country, the show reveals the stay-at-home-side of O'Neal. Surrounded by his wife and kids in the family kitchen, the NBA All Star talks about how his parents' molded him into a responsible adult. Through the lessons taught by his parents, O'Neal is dedicated to being a role model not only for his own family, but also for his expanded family, which includes teammates like Dwyane Wade.

"I was raised by discipline and discipline only," says the son of an army sergeant about staying on the straight and narrow path. "As a former juvenile delinquent, if you didn't want your dad to yell at you, you did what you had to do."

In addition to Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl, who is in search of his first NBA championship after pounding the NBA sidelines for 18 seasons, the premiere will feature Asia Dela Cruz, a Seattle Sonics dancer. Dela Cruz was introduced to the team by her sister, but she is also following in her father's footsteps by attending classes at the University of Washington to pursue her dream of becoming a dentist.

Future episodes will focus on New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson, Washington Wizards scoring sensation Gilbert Arenas, Orlando Magic forward-center Dwight Howard, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets rookie Chris Paul, and Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni, as well as the Detroit Pistons. When he isn't filing reports from various locations remote locations, 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.

In its Saturday afternoon timeslot on ABC, NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad will replace NBA Inside Stuff. The weekly magazine show will move to NBA TV, the league's 24-hour television network, beginning Sunday February 19, and then air as part of the network's Sunday morning kids' block, beginning Sunday, February 26, at 10:00 a.m. ET. NBA Inside Stuff co-host Summer Sanders will take over hosting duties for the show when it moves to NBA TV.

About Host and Executive Producer Ahmad Rashad

Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Ahmad Rashad was named host and executive producer of 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. He 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.

About NBAE 

NBA Entertainment (NBAE) is one of the largest suppliers of sports television and Internet programming in the world and manages the NBA, WNBA, and D-League television, film, Internet, publishing, photos, consumer products, marketing partnerships, media properties and event relationships domestically and internationally. NBAE, an Emmy Award-winning production and programming division, produces several weekly television shows, including NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad, NBA Inside Stuff, NBA Matchup, NBA Action, WNBA Action and NBA Jam. It creates exclusive content for NBA TV, NBA.com and WNBA.com and packages NBA and WNBA games along with highlight and lifestyle shows for distribution to 215 countries around the world. Launched in 1982, NBAE is the historical repository and exclusive licenser for all NBA and WNBA game footage, and the production house for all NBA and WNBA advertising, public service announcements, television programming, home videos and corporate presentations. NBAE employs a staff of more than 300 and creates more than 720 projects annually at its full-service, state-of-the-art facility in Secaucus, N.J., which includes a 75' x 75' x 32' television studio, where numerous features and shows are produced.