TNT stealthily appears in Kia ad during memory of Dikembe Mutombo

It’s a tough time to pay the bills by reading an ad when talking about the death of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo.

TNT announcer Ian Eagle interrupted Stan Van Gundy while talking about his brother Jeff’s former Mutombo player, who passed away at age 58 from brain cancer in September.

“It’s clear that the NBA world has just suffered a tough loss with the passing of Dikembe Mutombo,” Van Gundy said on the broadcast of the Lakers’ 110-103 victory over the Timberwolves.

“NBA on TNT, brought to you by the Kia Telluride X line. Kia, the official automotive partner of the NBA,” Eagle interrupted at the beginning of a sad conversation.

“Yes, it was terrible news regarding Dikembe, who has been a great ambassador for the game beyond his Hall of Fame career.”

When Eagle interrupted, the TNT broadcast switched to a wider image of the Kia logo next to a TNT Sports emblem as Minnesota center Rudy Gobert prepared to shoot free throws.

The strange exchange, which was criticized by some for being insensitive, occurred in the first quarter of a two-game NBA Opening Night.

“Did they just interrupt a mutombo memory to read an NBA ad on TNT?” Account X @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 recorded the second-most blocks in league history.

Kia, meanwhile, has been a sponsor of the NBA since 2007. The company was paying the NBA about $12 million a year under its previous deal, which expired in 2021, according to sportsbusiness.com.