If the cast of ESPN’s NBA Today program were still in high school, their favorite class would be chemistry. There may be no better mingling of personalities on the sports airwaves right now. So, let’s start right there.
Reggie Jackson once referred to himself as “the straw that stirs the drink” for the New York Yankees. While NBA Today host Malika Andrews would never be so self-aggrandizing, she is the Reggie of this program. Andrew’s background is impressive. Before debuting as an ESPN sideline reporter in 2019, she was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times covering hard news stories.
This experience has prepared her for her current role and propelled her as one of the top talents in the business. The fast rising star is understated, prepared, thoughtful, and able to match wits and jabs with anyone on her panel. When Malika Andrews opens a show, you are transfixed on what’s about to happen. She is dynamic in a subtle and serene manner and asks tremendous questions both as a host and interviewer.
If there is a second star on the NBA Today crew it is ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. The man they call ‘Woj’ has become the basketball version of Adam Schefter. He is a guts and grit, hard-working reporter with a pristine reputation. This dude is on point, locked in, and singularly connected. His contacts must read like an NBA Hall of Fame. Wojnarowski breaks stories like the late Darryl Dawkins broke backboards.
NBA Today is also home to a true television phenomenon and his name is Kendrick Perkins. Perkins did all of the rebounding, thumping, playing defense and blocking shots on those great Celtics teams from 2007-2011. I covered those teams, and if you asked me which player would be least likely to have a career in television, I would’ve said Perkins. I think the guy said about three words publicly during his 8 seasons in Boston.
This quiet assassin has now become a new wave Charles Barkley combining basketball acumen, flowery language, high level analysis and a mischievous sense of humor that shines brightly on television. Perkins is absolutely fearless and like Barkley, can be equal parts maddening and enthralling. This cat has a gift, and he is sharing it with hoops fans.
NBA Today also features the powerful presence of Chiney Ogwumike, a basketball expert who dominates the screen while offering opinions on all things roundball. Ogwumike also brings a WNBA playing résumé and a real sense of style and glitz.
Probably the most underrated panelist on the program is ex-NBA star Richard Jefferson, who has become the Larry Bird of the program. He makes everyone around him better. Jefferson is really funny and interacts especially well with Andrews and Perkins.
He will go toe-to-toe with anyone on any subject. He even challenged the personalities on ESPN’s First Take to reach his level of excellence in wardrobe. Jefferson is an antagonist. He shakes things up and rocks the world. I love his TV game.
The February 14 edition of NBA Today opened with Andrews and Wojnarowski talking about the Lakers and Warriors discussing a LeBron James trade before the February 8 trade deadline. Brian Windhorst, another tremendous part of the NBA Today team, made a great point saying if the trade was really nothing, why did it take 24 hours for the eventual answer to become no?
I called Perkins a television phenomenon and you can almost put Brian Windhorst in that same category. He is not as omnipresent as Wojnarowski but brings depth and background to happenings in the league, coaching moves, rumors and player movement.
In many conversations on NBA Today, Windhorst is the calming voice of reason. When Perkins and Jefferson go off on emotional tangents, it is Windhorst who brings everything back to sane analysis. He consistently does what every television personality should strive to do – tell the viewers something that they do not know.
Perkins made a great point that if the LeBron James trade did happen, the marquee player that the Warriors probably would have given up is Klay Thompson – once viewed as a guy who would never be traded. Andrews then noted that the Celtics’ 118-110 win over the Nets put them 30 games over .500, the fastest they have reached that mark since Perkins’ 2007-2008 championship Celtics team.
Quick-hitting highlights and tight, defined commentary are hallmarks of NBA Today. Andrews has to be a producer’s dream. She keeps things moving from one subject to the next, allowing a panelist of her choice to give short commentaries on each blurb.
Perkins again was glib and candid in a discussion of the Milwaukee Bucks who at the time were 3-6 in their previous 9 games. He flat out called the Bucks “pretenders.” This motivated Ogwumike to counter with the fact that Milwaukee is going to be pretty much locked into a 2 or 3 playoff seed and their defense has been upgraded since Doc Rivers took over as coach.
The pair had a great back-and-forth prompting Andrews to wisely let the debate percolate. This is the ultimate strength of NBA Today. It is not your typical highlights and analysis show. While the topics for a given episode are clearly planned, there is room for ad-libbing and going off script. In this light, Andrews is the Patrick Mahomes of ESPN. When she senses a better alternate route to take, she swerves right into it making for organic and compelling television.
This particular episode of NBA Today did not include reporter Zach Lowe, another recurring panelist. Lowe is a solid mixture of Wojnarowski and Windhorst – a seasoned reporter who openly challenges the opinions of fellow gabbers, even Perkins, Jefferson, and Ogwumike, all of whom bring that unique player’s perspective. Lowe’s appearances on the show only add to the depth of content.
The same can be said for Ramona Shelburne who always delivers telling information to NBA Today. She appeared on this edition to talk more about the proposed LeBron to Golden State deal. Shelburne is an ESPN senior writer who has been with the network since 2009.
Moreover, she is locked into the LA and West Coast NBA scene. She began her career at ESPN as a columnist for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Prior to that, she spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News as a columnist and reporter.
That background has fostered tremendous contacts out west. It is pretty much a given that when Shelburne talks about the Western Conference, you can etch it in stone. Andrews also introduced Bobby Marks, the former Nets’ executive, who appears regularly on ESPN talking about the front office and financial aspects of the game.
Marks provided a deep dive into which teams could pursue LeBron James this summer in his potential free agency. The LeBron speculation continued with Perkins implying that James may not want to finish his career in LA if they don’t have a roster that can win another title.
Perkins closed the show with his regular segment, Big Perk’s Big List. This one had a Valentine’s Day matchmaking theme as he talked about duos he would like to see play together in the NBA.
The Academy Awards are not until next month, but if NBA Today were a movie, the casting director would get an Oscar. Andrews and her ensemble cohorts bring it every day. From breaking stories to humor to straight up analysis, the show is an absolute triple double.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
