NBA Draft announcers are Malika Andrews and Kevin Negandhi. ESPN and ABC networks will provide live coverage of the event on June 22.
Jay Bilas, JJ Redick, Andraya Carter, and Monica McNutt will join Malika Andrews on ESPN. Likewise, Stephen A. Smith will accompany Kevin Negandhi for the ABC coverage.
NBA teams and fandom await the 2023 NBA Draft to welcome new talents into the league, making it a festival to celebrate for pro basketball fanatics. The 2022 NBA Draft on ESPN and ABC attracted an average of 3.05 million viewers.
With the 2023 NBA Finals average viewership hitting the 11.64 million benchmark across five games, the draft will also attract plenty of viewers.
Presented by State Farm, the 2023 NBA Draft from Barclays Center will be available to watch and hear on most of the TVs and radio networks.
ESPN host Cassidy Hubbarth is set to host the Draft Red Carpet Pre-Event show live from the venue. Meet the broadcast team of the draft day.
NBA Draft ESPN and ABC Announcers
Two different announcers will head the NBA Draft Coverage 2023 on ESPN and ABC networks. They are listed as under:
Malika Andrews (ESPN)
The host of NBA Today on ESPN and ESPN2, Malika Andrews, will return to host the draft this year. Malika made history as the first-ever female to host an NBA draft last year.
Moreover, she was 27 years old then, making her accomplishment more prominent due to her young age. Meanwhile, Andrews had already made it to the list of the Forbes 30 Under 30 in the sports industry for 2021.
Malika started her ESPN journey as an online NBA writer in October 2018 and later debuted as a sideline reporter. She was the youngest person in the tenure of the network as she covered the 2020 NBA Bubble.
Malika also shares the workspace along with the phenomenal chemistry with her younger sister, Kendra, who is also an NBA reporter for ESPN.
Kevin Negandhi (ABC)
Kevin Negandhi is another NBA Draft host in 2023. This is the 3rd time ABC will air the draft, and Kevin has led the show for the past two years.
Negandhi is an ESPN veteran, having joined the network in September 2006. He initially started as a host of ESPNews in October 2006, making him the first Indian-American anchor to be on an American national sports network.
Before ESPN, he worked at KTVO-TV and WSB-TV in various positions. Furthermore, Kevin bagged three Associated Press awards, including "Best Sportscast" in 2004 and 2005 and "Best Breaking Sports News" in 2005.
NBA Draft Commentators
NBA Draft analyst team for 2023 are:
- Jay Bilas (ESPN)
- JJ Redick (ESPN)
- Andraya Carter (ESPN)
- Monica McNutt (ESPN)
- Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN)
- Bobby Marks (ESPN)
- Stephen A. Smith (ABC)
Jay Bilas
A former professional basketball player and coach, Jay Bilas has been a color commentator and studio analyst for ESPN since 1995. He then took on the role of co-hosting ESPN's studio broadcasts programs since 2000.
Jay is widely known for his coverage of college basketball on College GameNight and College GameDay. He also makes time to appear on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Radio. He will be aiding Malika in the upcoming draft as an expert in the field.
JJ Redick
The former NBA player turned ESPN sports analyst and podcaster JJ Redick is another name alongside Bilas to back up Malika. JJ played in NBA from 2006 to 2021 and became an on-air sports analyst for ESPN right after his retirement.
He started "The Old Man and the Three" podcast in August 2020. The eminent podcast is mainly known for premiering inside the NBA Bubble
Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith is prominent for his table presence on SportsCenter, NBA Countdown, and the network's several other NBA broadcasts.
Besides, he became notable as the host of "The Stephen A. Smith Show" on ESPN Radio. He is currently a commentator on ESPN's "First Take."
The duo of Kevin Negandhi and Stephen Smith will be backed up by newscaster Robin Roberts during the NBA Draft State Farm coverage.
Roberts will interview French basketball prodigy Victor Wembanyama, widely projected to be the first overall pick for SA Spurs in the draft.
State Farm NBA Draft 2023 Coverage
State Farm NBA Draft 2023 on June 22 will be available to viewers across ESPN and ABC platforms, including its radio and digital networks.
The NBA teams will take turns in recruiting players into their team for the upcoming season. This year's draft number has reduced to 58 from 60, just like last time. Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers lost one draft each for violating the NBA's tampering rules during free agency.
Likewise, the 2023 NBA draft will take place in two rounds at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, from where ESPN and ABC will report live.
While ABC and ESPN+ will only broadcast the first round, ESPN and ESPN Radio will cover the full event for the 21st time. Meanwhile, ESPN has expanded its number of broadcasting platforms this year as they have introduced "The Hoop Collective NBA Draft Show."
The new show will be available on the ESPN app and on ESPN’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and Spotify. Likewise, The Hoop Collective Podcast is also at the rescue.
Brian Windhorst will work together with Kirk Goldsberry, Kevin Pelton, and Sam Ravech for the draft coverage on the podcast. In order to not miss the whole draft show, the ESPN app is the best option to tune into from start to finish.
