Legendary Chicago Bulls forward Scottie Pippen is joining ESPN as an NBA analyst this season, according to thebiglead.com:
“Scottie Pippen is joining ESPN as an NBA analyst, a source with knowledge of the information tells The Big Lead. The source requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. A formal announcement is expected soon. An ESPN spokesman declined to comment.”
Pippen, a six-time NBA champion who was named to the All-Star team seven times during his career, will become the latest ex-player to join the broadcasting team and cover the game he once played.
The report states he’s expected to be on air an estimated 50 times this season, including the Rachel Nichols’ hosted show, The Jump, and on SportsCenter.
Despite bringing Scottie Pippen on board, ESPN is continuing to search for more additions, according to the report.
“As we reported earlier this month, NBA Countdown will have its host roles split between Michelle Beadle and Sage Steele this season. Jalen Rose will remain on the show. With Doug Collins headed from a studio analyst role to color commentary on games, ESPN has still not firmed up its analyst roles on Countdown.
The source said that ESPN is “casting a wide net,” and confirmed that this has included “exploratory” talks with Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. This is logical because both are big names based in Los Angeles where Countdown is taped. However, it was characterized by the source as “less than probable” — though not impossible — that Magic would rejoin the network, and it sounds like far less of a chance that Kobe would regularly be on the program.
In-house possibilities from ESPN for Countdown spots include Chauncey Billups and Tracy McGrady.”
Scottie Pippen played 17 seasons in the NBA, making stops with the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and Portland Trail Blazers before retiring with the Bulls in 2004.
He scored 18,940 points, grabbed 7,494 rebounds, and recorded 2,307 steals across 1,178 games as a pro.
