ESPN To Air NBA Draft '12 on Thursday

This Thursday, ESPN will air the NBA Draft live from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

College GameDay’s Rece Davis will host. Jay Bilas will sit at the main desk with Rece. ESPN NBA analysts Jeff Van Gundy, Chris Broussard, college basketball reporter and Bilas fave, Andy Katz and NBA insider Ric Bucher will be on hand as well.

Mark Jones will be in the house interviewing the draftees once they leave the stage and Heather Cox will interview players in the NBA Green Room.

ESPN Radio will also have coverage with host Mark Kestecher and he’ll be joined by the Perpetually Angry Doug Gottlieb and Will Purdue.

Here’s the press release.

ESPN to Televise the 2012 NBA Draft Thursday
Comprehensive Draft Coverage Across ESPN Platforms

For the 10^th consecutive year, ESPN will televise live coverage of the 2012 NBA Draft Thursday, June 28, at 7 p.m. ET, emanating from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Rece Davis will host ESPN’s coverage of the 66^th annual NBA Draft with Draft expert and college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, NBA Insider Chris Broussard, college basketball reporter Andy Katz and NBA reporter Ric Bucher. In addition, Mark Jones will conduct interviews with Draftees once they’re announced and Heather Cox will interview players and their families in the NBA Draft green room.

In its 17^th year of NBA Draft coverage, ESPN Radio will nationally broadcast coverage of the 2012 Draft with Marc Kestecher serving as host with analysts Will Purdue and Doug Gottlieb (The Doug Gottlieb Show). The Draft is also available on ESPN Mobile TV and via WatchESPN on ESPN3.com, the WatchESPN app for smartphones and tablets and via live stream on Xbox LIVE.

ESPN’s coverage of the NBA Draft will include a new open centered on the themes of determination and achievement and “climbing the ladder” to success:

ESPN’s NBA Draft telecast will include:

reporters on location: Jeannine Edwards in New Orleans ( 1^st pick) and George Smith in Charlotte (2^nd pick);

video conferencing in 15 NBA cities to talk to head coaches and GM’s about their draft selections;

analyst Fran Fraschilla on-site to provide insights on International Draft prospects;

studio analyst Tom Penn – former NBA executive – to offer the GM’s take on Draft day.

ESPN’s multiplatform Draft coverage:

ESPN.com will offer extensive coverage of the NBA Draft, including breaking news, real-time Draft updates, Daily Dime Live and video analysis, chats with players after they are drafted and instant analysis of the picks and team grades;

the NBA on ESPN Facebook page will feature updated news, photos, videos, fan polls and interactive questions;

ESPN International will offer a live telecast of the NBA Draft in the United Kingdom and Australia;

ESPN the Magazine’s NBA Players-Only Mock Draft, in which players took the role of their team’s GM, will be available on Insider Tuesday, June 26.

ESPN will televise a special one-hour NBA Draft preview show on Wednesday, June 27, at 7 p.m.