Malika Andrews rose quickly at ESPN, going from Chicago Tribune sports reporter to NBA Countdown and NBA Today host in less than a decade.
In an interview on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast released Friday, Andrews revealed how two ESPN colleagues gave her a helping hand as she came up in the business.
Before she ever got to the worldwide leader, Andrews was an ace young reporter at the student newspaper at the University of Portland, where she introduced herself to Adrian Wojnarowski, then an NBA insider for Yahoo Sports. They both were covering the arrival of NBA legend Terry Porter on campus as the school’s new head basketball coach, and Wojnarowski lauded her writing ability after reading the front-page story she wrote for the student paper.
“Him saying that and remembering me, and he gave me his contact information and we just stayed in touch,” Andrews said, “You may be the most talented writer in the world, but if no one knows who you are … you might stay the greatest writer who writes for themself. And Woj made sure that he put my writing in front of his editor, and that’s what he did for me. And doing that for me made all the difference in the world, because I got hired at ESPN three years later by that same editor.”
Once Andrews nabbed a job covering the NBA at ESPN alongside Wojnarowski, she quickly took on bigger assignments before eventually becoming one of the few reporters sent by the network to cover the NBA Bubble in Orlando in 2020. There, she became a sideline reporter for television broadcasts and later hosted that year’s NBA Draft.
Andrews was soon promoted to hosting ESPN’s daily NBA studio show following the departures of Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor. This past fall, the most coveted NBA hosting role at ESPN opened up when Mike Greenberg left NBA Countdown.
“It was so surreal, I had been hosting some Wednesday Countdowns the year before and filling in for Mike when he (had) the grueling schedule of Get Up, when he had conflicts, things like that,” Andrews explained. “So I had a taste of what NBA Countdown is and the importance of the show in the NBA community and with viewers and the company, but I didn’t know that it was going to happen so quickly. I hoped at some point I would have the chance to host NBA Countdown. Giants have sat in this seat before me, and I’ve always had a deep appreciation for that.”
Andrews was a natural candidate to replace Greenberg, but worried if she was ready or if she would ruffle others’ feathers by taking the job. A text from Greenberg himself helped alleviate those concerns.
“The thing that meant the most to me … is that I think that so often when you move into a new role, there can be this uncertainty of, I don’t want any animosity between how things morph and change, because we’re all going to be replaced and we should be so lucky to be able to usher in and welcome in and help the next person behind us, and that’s what Mike did for me,” Andrews said. “He sent me a text (where) he said that he wanted to make sure that I heard from him. He said, ‘You’re so ready, and you’re going to be so great in this new role’ and he doesn’t have the least bit of concern.”
Greenberg’s message to Andrews continued:
“My only words of advice are keeping having fun with it and pace yourself because it’s a long season. If you need some rest, take it. I’m looking forward to watching you, I’m a text away if you need anything.”
Andrews was surprised and deeply appreciative that Greenberg took the time to pass the baton so gently.
“That meant the world to me,” she told Traina. “I felt at that point like, ‘Okay, there’s a couple people who see something in me, so now I’m going to go and try to fulfill whatever that is, even if I’m a little bit nervous.'”
Andrews now heads into her first postseason in the NBA Countdown chair this weekend, with the confidence of the network behind her.
