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Archives for September 21, 2021

NBA Today to Debut on ESPN in October

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BRISTOL, CT – (Staff, Wire Service and Official News Release reporting) – On the eve of the upcoming regular season, a new show, “NBA Today,” an hour-long panel discussion show, will debut on ESPN this October 18. Malika Andrews will host “NBA Today,” joined by network NBA analysts Kendrick Perkins, Chiney Ogwumike and Vince Carter along with ESPN senior writer Zach Lowe. Various ESPN network and ESPN.com basketball reporters will join the show when appropriate. The show will air weekdays from 3-4 ET.

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“NBA Today” replaces “The Jump,” which ESPN canceled amid controversy surrounding host and longtime basketball reporter Rachel Nichols involving comments she made about former colleague Maria Taylor.

Andrews, 26, joined the network in 2018 and has seen an increasingly visible role in ESPN’s coverage of the NBA. ESPN said Monday her new role is part of a multiyear contract extension, but details were not disclosed. Taylor left ESPN for a multi-million dollar deal at NBC Sports.

Celtics Round-Out Coaching Staff

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BOSTON – (Source: Official team news release) – The Boston Celtics announced that Will Hardy, Damon Stoudamire, Ben Sullivan, Joe Mazzulla, Aaron Miles, and Tony Dobbins will serve as assistant coaches on first-year head coach Ime Udoka’s staff. Evan Bradds, Garrett Jackson, DJ MacLeay, and Steve Tchiengang have been named to the team’s player enhancement staff, while Matt Reynolds will serve as a special assistant to Udoka. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Hardy joins Boston’s coaching staff after spending the last six seasons as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs from 2015-16 to 2020-21. The Williams College graduate has spent each of the last 11 seasons with San Antonio since joining on as a basketball operations intern in 2010, including a two-year stint as the Spurs video coordinator from 2013-15. Hardy served on the coaching staff during Team USA’s gold medal run at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He was also tabbed as San Antonio’s summer league head coach in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018, as well as serving as the team’s head coach during the Utah summer league from 2015-18.

Stoudamire spent the last five seasons at the University of Pacific after being named the head coach of the men’s basketball team on March 16, 2016. He led Pacific to a 23-10 finish in 2019-20 – the program’s best mark since 2012-13 – en route to being named both the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year, given annually to the top minority coach at the Division I level. Stoudamire previously worked as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis (2011-13; 2015-16), the University of Arizona (2013-15), and in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2009-2011.

A 13-year NBA point guard, Stoudamire played in 878 career games (793 starts) with the Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs. He was named the league’s Rookie of the Year and was selected to the All-Rookie First Team in 1995-96 after being selected by Toronto with the seventh overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.

Sullivan joins the Celtics after winning an NBA Championship in his third season as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. He has seven seasons of experience as an assistant coach in the NBA, including a four-year stint with the Atlanta Hawks from 2014-15 to 2017-18. Prior to his time in Milwaukee and Atlanta, Sullivan served as an assistant video coordinator with San Antonio while also working in its basketball development department.

Mazzulla returns for his third year as an assistant coach after originally joining the organization prior to the 2019-20 season. The Rhode Island native most recently served as Boston’s head coach throughout the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League, guiding the Celtics to a 4-1 record and an appearance in the championship game. Mazzulla previously spent two seasons as the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Fairmont State University (2017-19), guiding the Falcons to a 43-17 overall record, and an NCAA Tournament bid in his second and final year.

Miles spent the last two seasons as a player development coach with the Golden State Warriors, after serving as the head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors – Golden State’s G League affiliate – for two seasons from 2017-18 to 2018-19. The native Oregonian led Santa Cruz to a 57-43 record in his two seasons at the helm, including a 34-16 mark and trip to the G League Western Conference Finals in 2018-19. Miles played 10 seasons of professional basketball, eight of which came overseas, after a decorated collegiate career at Kansas in which he netted two All-Big 12 Third Team selections.

Dobbins begins his second season as an assistant coach with the Celtics after spending the previous two years as the team’s video coordinator. A native of Washington, D.C., Dobbins played a combined 13 years of professional basketball across Europe and the NBA G League. He was named the French Pro A’s Best Defensive Player three times (2009, 2013, 2014), won two French Cup championships (2010, 2015), and a G League title with the Asheville Altitude in 2005.

BOSTON CELTICS COACHING STAFF

Head coach: Ime Udoka (Portland State)
Assistant coaches: Will Hardy (Williams College), Damon Stoudamire (Arizona), Ben Sullivan (Portland), Joe Mazzulla (West Virginia), Aaron Miles (Kansas), Tony Dobbins (Richmond)
Player enhancement staff: Evan Bradds (Belmont), Garrett Jackson (Saint Mary’s), DJ MacLeay (Bucknell), Steve Tchiengang (Vanderbilt)
Special assistant to head coach: Matt Reynolds (Syracuse)