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NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2006 -- NBA TV and ESPN Classic will team up once again to simulcast the enshrinement for the Class of 2006 into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET. ESPN?s Mike Breen will serve as master of ceremonies, while NBA TV?s Andre Aldridge will host the show for the enshrinement of NBA legends Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins, and Joe Dumars, Italian Team coach Sandro Gambo, University of Connecticut Women?s Head Coach Geno Auriemma and former Big East Commissioner Dave Gavitt.

Prior to the ceremonies, NBA TV will air a red carpet preview show, hosted by Aldridge who will provide viewers with exclusive access to the inductees, current NBA stars and basketball legends through live interviews as they arrive for the ceremonies in Springfield, Mass., beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. This one-hour special also will feature a video travel log from Wilkins as he and his family venture from their home in Atlanta, where Wilkins rose to fame with the Atlanta Hawks, to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Beginning at 2 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic will feature related programming, including airings of the 1991 NBA All Star Game featuring Barkley, Dumars and Wilkins; back-to-back editions of Vintage NBA, recapping the careers of Dumars and Wilkins; and SportsCentury: Charles Barkley.

This year marks the second consecutive year that the NBA TV has produced the celebrated enshrinement ceremonies. In addition to the ceremonies and red carpet show, NBA TV will dedicate its programming lineup leading up to the ceremonies to the six inductees, airing specials, NBA Hardwood Classics games, past enshrinement ceremonies and rarely-seen interviews from the extensive NBA Entertainment library.