ESPN will carry its 25th straight NBA season in 2026-27 with its top booth intact and two former champions, Jason Kidd and Jeremy Lin, joining the wider coverage rotation. Mike Breen, Tim Legler, Richard Jefferson and Lisa Salters remain on the lead ABC and ESPN crew for the second consecutive year, handling the network’s biggest regular-season windows before taking over ABC’s playoff and Finals assignments.
ESPN NBA coverage at a glance
| Category | 2026-27 figure |
|---|---|
| Consecutive ESPN NBA seasons | 25 |
| NBA champions on the announced roster | 8 |
| Naismith Hall of Fame honorees | 5 |
| Inside the NBA regular-season appearances | 25 |
| Mike Breen’s ESPN season | 24th |
| NBA Today season | 5th anniversary season |
Breen remains ESPN’s primary play-by-play voice, now entering his 24th season with the network. Legler, part of ESPN’s NBA operation since 2000, stays beside him with Jefferson, while Salters continues as the lead reporter. That four-person unit will work the marquee games throughout the regular season, then anchor ABC’s postseason and Finals broadcasts.
New voices enter the game and studio rotations
Jason Kidd and Jeremy Lin are the key additions. Kidd, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, will work both games and studio programming. The former point guard was a 10-time All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team selection, an NBA champion and a member of the league’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Lin arrives after appearing on ESPN’s coverage of the 2026 NBA Finals and Summer League. The former NBA champion will be used across studio shows, including NBA Today.
ESPN’s television play-by-play group will again feature Breen, Dave Pasch and Ryan Ruocco for major matchups. Mike Monaco and Drew Carter have been added to the regular-season game rotation for selected broadcasts.
Jefferson and Legler headline the analyst group, joined by Hall of Famers Doris Burke and Kidd, plus Lin and P.J. Carlesimo. Carlesimo is slated for select game assignments.
Sideline group and studio schedule
Salters leads a reporter group that also includes Katie George, Malika Andrews, Jorge Sedano, Alyssa Lang, Taylor McGregor, Vanessa Richardson and Angel Gray. The reporting team will work the regular season, playoffs and Finals across ESPN and ABC.
Inside the NBA, produced by TNT Sports in Atlanta, will make 25 regular-season appearances on ESPN and ABC under its Eli Lilly sponsorship. Ernie Johnson will host with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, supplying pregame, halftime and postgame coverage around selected high-profile windows.
The studio show opens during the NBA’s American Express Tip-Off and will also appear around the Christmas Day slate and NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC.
NBA Countdown will have a reworked lineup. Andrews will host alongside Kidd, Kendrick Perkins, Brian Windhorst and Shams Charania, with the group handling ESPN and ABC’s pregame, halftime and postgame coverage. Smith will join selected editions.
Andrews also remains the host of NBA Today as the weekday show begins its fifth season. Its contributor group includes Iman Shumpert, Danny Green, Perkins, Windhorst, Chiney Ogwumike, Lin, Tim MacMahon and Charania.
Radio and digital benches
On ESPN Radio, Marc Kestecher, Mike Couzens, Sean Kelley and Sedano will call games. Carlesimo, Cory Alexander, Burke and Kelenna Azubuike are set as analysts for marquee regular-season games and national playoff and Finals coverage.
The digital reporting group includes Charania in Chicago, Windhorst in Omaha, MacMahon in Dallas, Dave McMenamin in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, Jamal Collier in Chicago, Michael C. Wright in San Antonio, Vincent Goodwill in New York, Kris Rhim in Philadelphia, Anthony Slater in Sacramento, Ramona Shelburne and Baxter Holmes in Los Angeles, Marc Spears in Oakland, Bobby Marks in Southwest Florida, Jeremy Woo in Chicago, Ben Golliver in Los Angeles and Zach Kram in Chicago.
That group will handle daily news, features, analysis and insider reporting through the regular season and into the playoff calendar, giving ESPN a familiar front line on the broadcast side and a deeper bench for its game and studio coverage.
