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Before being hired as the next head men\u2019s basketball coach at North Carolina this week, Michael Malone was one of the bigger surprises in NBA broadcasting to come along in recent years.<\/p>\n
Malone jumped from the Denver Nuggets bench to ESPN studio coverage last postseason, then signed on with the Worldwide Leader on a more full-time basis this past season. Given that Malone\u2019s dismissal in Denver was such a shock, he wasn\u2019t on anyone\u2019s list for the next great coach to enter the media.<\/p>\n
After a strong season, filling in with the decision-maker\u2019s perspective on ESPN studio coverage that previously came from Bob Myers, Malone began calling games earlier this year. All signs seemed to point to him effectively being the network\u2019s No. 3 game analyst this postseason.<\/p>\n
Now\u00a0that\u00a0he is apparently gone,<\/a> ESPN can\u00a0<\/span>add him to a list that includes Myers, Doc Rivers, JJ Redick, and both Van Gundy brothers, all promising, influential game commentators who left to enter the coaching ranks.<\/p>\n The Malone departure creates a short-term headache for ESPN on the cusp of the playoffs, and adds to the long-term trouble the network has been in since it laid off Van Gundy and Mark Jackson three years ago.<\/p>\n The NBA Today crew reacts to NBA Champion, colleague and friend Michael Malone becoming @UNC_Basketball<\/a>\u2018s next head coach \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/dCyBi39vWb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While ESPN upped its spending to keep the top NBA package, including the Finals, as part of the league\u2019s new broadcast rights package, it lost a fair bit of regular-season inventory<\/a> (plus a portion of the Play-In Tournament) as Prime Video entered the fray. The pie had to be cut in three, so ESPN ultimately paid more money to air fewer games, though it negotiated increased international and digital distribution rights in return<\/a>. This season also marked the first in which ESPN is licensing\u00a0TNT Sports\u2019 Inside the NBA<\/em> <\/span>as its top NBA studio show.<\/p>\n As a result, ESPN pared back its NBA talent fairly significantly. It let Michael Grady leave after just one season and kept Ryan Ruocco primarily on women\u2019s basketball games. Myers left a hole in game coverage, while Udonis Haslem departed for Prime Video after a strong showing in the studio. Hubie Brown retired last February, and ESPN never replaced him. Malone was just about the only hire made to fill in for these departures.<\/p>\n With Malone gone now on the eve of the playoffs, ESPN is really going to feel thin this postseason. The easiest solution would be to split the top booth between Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler, but that means sacrificing valuable reps those two need to get ready to call their first NBA Finals together in two months. For Christmas Day, ESPN called up Marc Kestecher and PJ Carlesimo from the radio roster to call games on television<\/a>. The same may be needed for early-round playoff games. Even Stephanie White is likely limited to the first game or two of the first round before duty calls as head coach of the WNBA\u2019s Indiana Fever. Jay Bilas will likely get stretched even thinner this year.<\/p>\n After the first round, ESPN won\u2019t need as many commentators, and roles will stabilize. But the fact that the departure of a newcomer like Malone would send such shockwaves across the talent roster for one of ESPN\u2019s top properties is not a great sign.<\/p>\n The network finally solidified its troubling studio show by licensing\u00a0Inside<\/em>. Without Van Gundy and Jackson, though, it will trot out its third different NBA Finals broadcast booth in as many years this June. The biggest spotlight will be on ESPN\u2019s top booth of Mike Breen, Jefferson, and Legler in its first Finals, but there is little to no consistency around them.<\/p>\n\n