ESPN has made its NBA studio changes official.
ESPN on Tuesday officially named Rachel Nichols the host of ABC’s NBA Finals coverage this season, replacing Michelle Beadle. Nichols will be ABC’s sixth Finals host since ESPN acquired NBA rights in 2002, following Beadle, Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, Sage Steele and the late Stuart Scott.
Nichols will also host studio coverage throughout the regular season and playoffs. The Nichols-hosted NBA studio show The Jump will air prior to ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime games and Clippers-Lakers on Christmas Day. She will also host pregame coverage before select playoff games.
ESPN also announced Tuesday that Maria Taylor will host NBA Countdown, which will move back to ESPN’s New York studios after a one-year return to Los Angeles last year. The show will now only air on Fridays and Sundays.
Taylor will primarily be accompanied by analysts Jalen Rose and Jay Williams. Richard Jefferson, Paul Pierce and Adrian Wojnarowski will also make appearances in the studio.
Countdown will make its season debut Wednesday, prior to a Pelicans-Bulls preseason game. That will be one of few Wednesday editions this season, as ESPN is largely replacing those shows with special editions of SportsCenter.
All of these moves were previously reported by The Athletic, the New York Post and The Big Lead months ago.
In other ESPN NBA studio news, The Jump will be on-site from China Tuesday through Thursday for the NBA’s annual preseason games there. Nichols will host segments from Shanghai alongside Jefferson.
The trip was announced prior to a Chinese backlash against the Houston Rockets over a tweet by GM Daryl Morey expressing support for pro-democracy protests in Chinese-controlled Hong Kong.
The NBA’s meek response to the backlash — which included apologies to China by Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta, PG James Harden, and the league — has itself incurred backlash from U.S. politicians.
