Last season was a rare year of stability for ESPN’s NBA studio coverage, as Mike Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith, Jalen Rose, and Michael Wilbon returned for a second season together as the NBA Countdown panel for pregame and halftime coverage.
However, this summer saw more change at ESPN, with Countdown among the shows getting another makeover. With layoffs ending Jalen Rose’s 15-year tenure with the network, we knew the analysts would be changing some, but we also got word this week that Malika Andrews would be taking over hosting duties from Mike Greenberg, who will focus on his other duties at the network. On Thursday, word broke from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post that at least one of the new faces on Countdown will be an outside hire, with former Warriors GM Bob Myers reportedly nearing a deal with the network to join the show.
Myers chose not to sign a new contract with the Warriors this summer after a decade in the Bay, building the roster that won four championships, and he will now provide a unique front office perspective to the show. Now, how much that helps the show on a day-to-day basis as they breakdown games remains to be seen, as does how his personality shines on TV (he did host a podcast last year), but he will have some interesting insight to the team-building process that we don’t often get from executives who were at the highest level of the front office.
One would expect Myers won’t be the only new face joining Andrew on the Countdown desk as ESPN overhauls its NBA coverage for the 2023-24 season. Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are also out as the lead broadcast analysts, with Doc Rivers and Doris Burke stepping into the lead booth with Mike Breen next year.