ESPN announced that it has reached a multi-year extension with Emmy-winning sports journalist Malika Andrews, ensuring her continued year-round presence across the network’s NBA coverage.
Andrews, 29, will remain the host of NBA Countdown, NBA Today, and the NBA Draft on ESPN. While also taking on a package of NBA sideline reporter assignments. The network is further expanding her profile following her recent appointment as host of WNBA Countdown.
Andrews joined ESPN in 2018 as a regional NBA reporter covering the league’s Midwest teams. She gained national attention in 2020 as the first reporter inside the NBA “Bubble” during the COVID-19 pandemic. She later became the youngest sideline reporter in NBA history. The following year, she broke another barrier as the youngest sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on ABC.
ESPN launched NBA Today in 2021, a year-round weekday studio show hosted by Andrews. As the show enters its fifth season ahead of the 2025-26 NBA campaign, Andrews’ role as a studio host continues to expand. In 2022, she became the first woman to host the NBA Draft. She took over hosting duties for NBA Countdown prior to the 2023-24 season.
Her work has earned widespread recognition. Andrews won the 2022 Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality – Emerging On-Air Talent and was honored with the 2021 NABJ Michael J. Feeney Emerging Journalist of the Year Award. She is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. While serving on the NABJ Sports Task Force Scholarship Committee.
The multi-year deal underscores a broader trend in sports media. Where networks are investing in young, versatile journalists to strengthen both studio and field reporting. Andrews’ continued presence across high-profile NBA broadcasts, combined with her WNBA hosting duties, positions her as one of the most prominent female sports journalists in the industry.
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