Less than a month after Rachel Nichols and her show “The Jump” were removed from ESPN, the network has announced its replacement. Malika Andrews will now host a new show titled “NBA Today,” which will take place Mondays to Fridays between 3 PM to 4 PM EST.
The reporter will “provide in-depth, comprehensive daily coverage of all aspects of the NBA” alongside panelists analysts Kendrick Perkins, Chiney Ogwumike, Vince Carter and ESPN Senior Writer Zach Lowe. She is also slated to work with ESPN Senior NBA Insiders Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, who will provide updates from around the league.
“It’s an incredible time to cover the NBA — a league that is full of characters and stories that have resonance far beyond the sports world,” said Andrews, who will continue to do coverage as a sideline reporter for NBA live events. “Our goal every day is to deliver information and analysis to our viewers that can’t be gleaned anywhere else. I’m so excited to showcase the league and the talented reporters, analysts and insiders on our team.”
The news of Andrews’ upcoming talk show comes after ESPN announced that Nichols’ show “The Jump” would be removed from all NBA programming.
“We mutually agreed that this approach regarding our NBA coverage was best for all concerned,” David Roberts, ESPN’s senior vice president of production, said at the time. “Rachel is an excellent reporter, host and journalist, and we thank her for her many contributions to our NBA content.”
Prior to that, Nichols was captured insisting that Maria Taylor — who is Black — landed a role as 2020 NBA Finals host because of ESPN’s “crappy longtime record on diversity.” After the audio leaked, Taylor left the network and moved on to NBC Sports, where she helped to cover the Tokyo Olympics. She also contributes to an NFL show titled “Football Night in America.”