Craig Sager tragically passed away on Thursday after a long battle with Leukemia. Sager was fighting for his life and battling cancer for about two years and the legendary sports broadcaster fought until the end.
Sager has been honored for his work on the NBA sidelines and overall contribution to the sports world as of late. In the summer he was recognized at the ESPY’s with the Jimmy V award for perseverance and just this week he was inducted into the sports broadcasting hall of fame. Sager was well respected in the sports media world and beyond.
One of those people who was impacted by Sager was ESPN personality, Rachel Nichols. The host of ESPN’s daily NBA show ‘The Jump’ is in her second stint with the ‘worldwide leader’. Before she returned to the network, she was a member of the Turner Sports family, doing segments on CNN as well as projects for TNT. Of course, one person she worked closely with was Sager.
So when ‘The Jump’ came on the air at about 3:30 in the afternoon, it was just a few short minutes after Turner Sports announced Sager’s death. Nine minutes to be exact. So the emotions were high on set and ‘The Jump’, which typically covers the news and notes from around the NBA, became a beautiful tribute to Craig Sager. Nichols joined by co-stars Brian Windhorst and Tracy McGrady told stories about Craig and what he meant to the NBA and sports media world.
