Jewish 'NBA Countdown' Host Malika Andrews Shines as a Rising Star

As millions of basketball fans tune into ABC for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, they’ll see a Jewish star front and center - Malika Andrews. At 29, Andrews hosts ABC’s “NBA Countdown” pregame show and ESPN’s “NBA Today.” The Oakland native has rapidly risen as a prominent basketball reporter and TV personality since joining ESPN in 2018.

Initially hired as a reporter for ESPN’s news website, Andrews became the network’s sideline reporter during the 2020 playoffs, held in the COVID-19 quarantine bubble. She was the youngest reporter to receive this assignment. In May 2022, she won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Emerging On-Air Talent. The following month, she became the first woman to host the NBA Draft, a role she has reprised annually.

Andrews comes from an interfaith and interracial family: her mother, Caren, is white and Jewish, while her father, Mike, is Black and not Jewish. Both Andrews and her sister, Kendra, who covers the Golden State Warriors for ESPN, identify as Jewish. Andrews’ journey included overcoming childhood struggles with mental health and an eating disorder. She studied communications at the University of Portland, worked at the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times, and even briefly worked at her Jewish grandfather’s San Francisco law firm before joining ESPN.

Taking over from fellow Jewish personality Mike “Greeny” Greenberg as host of “NBA Countdown,” Andrews has yet to speak publicly about her Jewish identity. However, it surfaced in late 2022 during the aftermath of NBA star Kyrie Irving’s antisemitism scandal. On “NBA Today,” she interviewed Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, who highlighted her unique position to bridge Jewish and Black communities. “Wow, you need to tell that story,” Sherman told Andrews. “You need to get us together. You need to tell young people in Black communities, in Jewish communities. And by the way, I think it’s important, not all Jews look like me.”

Andrews' connection to her Jewish heritage is also reflected in her childhood at Temple Sinai in Oakland. Ilene Keys, Andrews’ childhood cantor, recalled her determination. “I knew back when we were studying for her bat mitzvah that she was a force to be reckoned with,” Keys said. “I’d like to think that her connection to the Temple Sinai community helped to shape who she is and gave her the confidence to be the leader that she is today.”

As Andrews continues to make waves in the sports media landscape, she remains a testament to the power of perseverance, identity, and breaking barriers.

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