In his third return to television, former NBA coach Doug Collins will move into the studio.
Collins has officially joined ESPN as an NBA studio analyst for the network’s “NBA Countdown” pregame show, the network announced Tuesday. In addition to his role in the studio, Collins told ESPN.com that he will also work ten Wednesday night regular season games, the NBA Draft, and the FIBA World Championships.
Tuesday’s news was first reported by The Big Lead a month ago.
The move into the studio is a departure for Collins, who served as a game analyst for Turner Sports (1989-94, 2004-10) and NBC (1998-01). His most recent TV role was a game analyst during NBC’s coverage of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament last year.
Collins’ addition means the departure of Michael Wilbon from “NBA Countdown,” though Wilbon will continue to have a presence in the network’s NBA coverage.
Of note, the cast of “NBA Countdown” has now changed in each of the past four years — going from Stuart Scott, Jon Barry, Magic Johnson and Wilbon in 2010-11 to Barry, Johnson, Wilbon and Chris Broussard in 2011-12, Johnson, Wilbon, Bill Simmons and Jalen Rose in 2012-13, and now Johnson, Simmons, Rose and Collins in 2013-14.
(Tuesday’s news from ESPN Media Zone, ESPN.com)
