ESPN Unveils Roster for Its 25th NBA Season: Jason Kidd Joins NBA Countdown, Jeremy Lin Added as Analyst
Bristol, Connecticut — ESPN announced its NBA commentator roster for the 2026-27 season on October 15, its milestone 25th consecutive season of NBA game coverage. The roster includes eight NBA champions and five Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honorees, with changes across both the lead broadcast team and the studio shows.
Hall of Fame guard Jason Kidd joins ESPN this season and will contribute across both game and studio coverage. He will sit on the new-look NBA Countdown desk with host Malika Andrews, NBA champion Kendrick Perkins, reporter Brian Windhorst and senior insider Shams Charania, leading ESPN and ABC's pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, with Kenny Smith appearing on select shows. ESPN's announcement notes that Kidd was a 10-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team selection, an NBA champion and a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
Former NBA champion Jeremy Lin also joins ESPN's roster. He will appear across the network's studio programming, including the weekday show NBA Today, and will serve as a game analyst on select broadcasts. ESPN said Lin had previously contributed to its coverage of the 2026 NBA Finals and the NBA Summer League. NBA Today enters its fifth anniversary season, still hosted by Andrews. The lead broadcast team of Mike Breen, Tim Legler, Richard Jefferson and Lisa Salters returns for a second season together, with Breen entering his 24th season as ESPN's lead NBA play-by-play voice. Inside the NBA, produced by TNT Sports from its Atlanta studios, will make 25 regular-season appearances across ESPN and ABC, hosted by Ernie Johnson with analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: ESPN位于康涅狄格州布里斯托尔的总部大楼（2026年5月摄）。Photo: AirportExpert / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) / ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, photographed in May 2026. Photo: AirportExpert, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
