Finally, the nightmare for NBA fans is over and ESPN’s professional basketball pregame show will finally have a host. For two seasons, NBA Countdown went without a host. Last year’s version was for all intents and purposes an abortion. So ESPN has turned to SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele to host the program on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. She’ll join yet another incarnation of the show with holdovers Captain Blowhard and Jalen Rose and newcomer Doug Collins.
On Wednesdays, the show will continue the no-host route and consist of Doris Burke, Avery Johnson and Rose.
Steele whose contract was coming up, signed an extension with ESPN and will remain at the network to co-anchor SportsCenter and will be featured extensively on the network’s NBA coverage.
Here’s the press release.
Sage Steele to Host ABC’s and ESPN’s NBA Countdown
New Role Part of Multi-Year Extension with ESPN
ESPN today announced it has reached a multi-year extension with versatile on-air personality Sage Steele. Per the agreement, Steele will take on a new role at ESPN, hosting the Friday and Sunday editions of NBA Countdown – ESPN’s and ABC’s NBA pre-game show. She’ll help form the Friday and Sunday Countdown team with ESPN newcomer and veteran analyst Doug Collins and returning analysts Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons. The Countdown quartet will make its debut on Friday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. (The Wednesday NBA Countdown team will consist of Rose, Doris Burke and Avery Johnson and debut Nov. 13).
Sage Steele:
“I’m thrilled to continue my career at ESPN and to embark on this exciting, new challenge. I love the NBA, and like millions of other fans, I’m looking forward to the season tipoff and to guiding some great discussion from our expert analysts.”
John Wildhack, ESPN Executive Vice President, Production:
“Sage is a dynamic, engaging personality and an avid follower of the NBA. She has a proven track record hosting our NBA coverage, and, on Countdown, she’ll help facilitate insightful discussion amongst her new teammates Doug Collins, Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons.”
In addition to NBA Countdown, Steele will continue to appear on SportsCenter and will also contribute to ESPN’s on-site NBA coverage during the NBA Finals. For the previous two years, she has hosted on-site SportsCenter coverage at the NBA Finals and this year she hosted ESPN’s coverage of NBA Summer League 2013 from Las Vegas.
Steele has worked on a range of assignments since joining ESPN in 2007. In addition to SportsCenter and NBA, she has hosted the Scripps National Spelling Bee every year since 2010. She has also contributed to ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike, First Take, SportsNation and other studio programming.
That is all.
