Latest news with #MalikaAndrews
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lakers Make Surprise Trade for 'Best Dunker' in NBA Draft
Lakers Make Surprise Trade for 'Best Dunker' in NBA Draft originally appeared on Athlon Sports. In a bit of a surprise, the Lakers made a move on Thursday night in the second round of the NBA draft, nabbing a young wing they will hope to develop in the coming years as they look to replenish a roster that has mostly been built on free agency and trades. The Lakers came into the draft with the 55th pick in the second round but moved up nine spots to pick 6-foot-7 wing Adou Thiero from Arkansas. Advertisement Thiero, a junior, averaged 15.1 points per game for the Razorbacks, and shot 54.5% from the field, though only 25.6% from the 3-point line. The Lakers sent cash and their pick to the Timberwolves to make the trade happen. ESPN's host for second-round coverage, Malika Andrews, pointed out that the network's draft expert, Jonathan Givony, called Thiero, "the best dunker in the draft." Arkansas Razorbacks forward Adou Thiero (3) shoots a free-throw during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images The site wrote of him, "Thiero is perhaps the most explosive player in this draft, an event creator defensively who is a significant mismatch attacking in a straight line and the open court, drawing fouls in bunches and finishing in highlight-reel fashion." Advertisement And on the broadcast, former Nets executive Bobby Marks noted that the Lakers need wing depth, especially with uncertainty around the future of Dorian Finney-Smith, who can become a free agent, looming. At The Ringer, Thiero was rated the No. 27 overall prospect, praised for his athleticism, propensity for physical play, rebounding ability and defense. The only question is whether he can acquire the polish needed for the NBA. The Ringer's J. Kyle Mann wrote: "Rounding out his game will be an uphill battle, albeit not an unrealistic one. Thiero is a sometimes shooter with a slower release that could be workable enough to get by. He has moments of connective brilliance and displays quick touch on his passing. His unselfish approach is nonnegotiable for him—it's hardwired into how he plays. Thiero seems willing to embrace an identity that best suits his strengths, and for that reason, his game is worth betting on." This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
ESPN's second-round NBA Draft coverage began with tedious conversation no one asked for
It turns out that ESPN's insistence on shoving its television personalities down its audience's throat isn't limited to the grating Stephen A. Smith. Even worse, in tandem, it seems the NBA is all too committed to being late to the start time of the NBA Draft, not just its games. On Friday night, the NBA world eagerly awaited the start of the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft at the listed start time of 8:00 p.m. Eastern. And waited. And waited. And waited. It took nearly 20 minutes for the first pick of the second round (Rasheer Fleming to the Phoenix Suns) to go off the board. Advertisement How did ESPN fill the gap created by a clearly delayed (intentionally or not) start of the second round, you might ask? It had its NBA studio panel, featuring Malika Andrews, Jay Bilas, Bobby Marks, Bob Myers, and Brian Windhorst, conduct random chit-chat about developments from the first round of the draft. Again, this happened, with everyone else twiddling their thumbs waiting for the draft to start. It was almost as if the network and the NBA decided to let a much-criticized studio panel flex its muscles to a skeptical and impatient viewing audience. What ESPN continues to fail to understand is that people still want the live analysis and conversation to be better. They still want people who can talk about basketball with nuance and focus on basketball to be featured more. At the same time, though, they don't want that conversation to preempt the actual basketball or hopeful basketball team-building. The analysis is not the star of the coverage, and it never has been. It's a comforting conduit to let people tune in for what they really want to pay attention to, nothing more. It's also not as if anyone who wants to watch the draft has another option to watch outside of ESPN, which kind of feels like something the network readily takes advantage of. As such, ESPN's continued response to criticism feels perfunctory. It also shows that it's probably not entirely listening to what people are saying. But is anyone surprised there? Advertisement Until the network understands this dynamic (to be candid, it probably does, but chooses not to), it seems we're destined to keep running on this hamster wheel of failure. Hoops fans couldn't believe that even the start of the NBA draft's second round was late: This article originally appeared on For The Win: NBA Draft start time on Friday was delayed because of ESPN
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
X Adds More Sports Engagement Options to Maintain Community Engagement
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. With Meta making a bigger push to lure sports communities over to its apps, X is looking to fight back, by adding various new sports engagement options which it hopes will enhance game day interaction in the app. X has been working on this since November last year, when it launched its new 'NFL Portal' element, which is designed to make it easier for users to stay up to date with key discussions around live NFL matches. As you can see in this example, the NFL Portal brings together posts from NFL teams, as well as key commentators, while also providing access to game schedules, live scores and stats. X added the same for NBA matches in April this year: And in the last week, X has also added some additional sports engagement elements, including updated share cards for sports games, and new score tracker notes on relevant posts. I mean, maybe you wouldn't want that, if you were hoping to catch the replay, but if you're looking up the event hashtag, you're likely fine with the score being spoiled. X users can also dock conversations about a live match, so they can keep on top of the discussion while X's video feed provides another means to share highlights in-stream. X will be hoping that this enhanced focus on sports discussion will prompt more engagement, and keep its top sports communities from migrating to other platforms instead. Because as noted, Meta's making a push for this audience as well. Meta already has a deal in place with the UFC, which will see exclusive, live content shared to Threads, while Threads now also has its own live score displays for in progress sporting events, which is a first step towards a similar game day hub like X. Meta has also made a specific point of highlighting that sports discussion is rising fast in the app, with some sports-related communities growing by millions in a matter of months. And amid the recent NBA Finals fanfare, Threads also hosted a live chat with ESPN's Malika Andrews to promote the event. In combination, you can see how Threads is looking to make inroads with this key discussion element, as another effort to put pressure on X. And given that sports is the biggest topic of discussion on X, that makes a lot of sense: The fact that X is now looking to add more sports engagement elements, and fast, suggests that Threads likely is making some progress on this front, and building its own sports-based communities, causing engagement challenges for the app. And if Threads can become more of a focal point for live sports discussion, that could fast become a major issue for Elon's social media project, which now runs the risk of becoming a bigger version of Parler or Truth Social, where political discussion becomes the domineering focus of the app. I suspect that many X users are not interested in such, but have largely been able to ignore it, in order to maintain their established sports communities. But if those groups start to fragment, and re-seed themselves on Threads instead, that could see a big chunk of X's usage filter away over time. I'd suggest that this is already happening, hence X's rethink of its sports elements, and the broader stats which show a decline in X usage. I also think that X is putting too much reliance on its Grok AI chatbot to drive engagement. Just this week, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky noted that LinkedIn's AI-generated post creation tools aren't catching on as it had hoped they would, which could point to a broader shift away from AI as a creation tool. Don't get me wrong, there's clearly value in AI for some elements, including analytics, ad targeting, product image generation, etc. But for personal, creative use, in regards to providing post text options, reimagining images, generating video, etc. I don't think that there's going to be as much value in these aspects, from a general user standpoint. The risk then is that by making these tools more readily available in-stream, platforms will eventually become more and more inundated by AI slop, which will turn users away. You can already see this starting on TikTok, where AI-generated video posts (mostly created in Google Veo), lacking in originality or creativity, and are starting to overtake human-created content. Yet, it's the human-created content that facilitates connection and engagement, because there's nothing unique about animated video generated from a text prompt. Anyone can do it, with the only real differentiator being in the concept and the writing behind it. And standing out in that respect is much more difficult. X's continued push on Grok could lead to the same, and it'll be interesting to see how the platform looks to counter engagement losses with more features designed to enhance the user experience, in variance to this. Because if X starts losing its key discussion groups, it's going to lose, period.
Time Business News
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time Business News
Malika Andrews Moves On from NBA Finals as ESPN Faces Backlash Over Haliburton Coverage
The 2025 NBA Finals delivered a thrilling Game 7, with the Oklahoma City Thunder clinching their first championship, led by Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, the victory was overshadowed by a devastating injury to Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton and a brewing controversy over ESPN's coverage, placing host Malika Andrews in the spotlight as she shifts to new projects. The Indiana Pacers entered Game 7 with high hopes, driven by Haliburton's resilience despite a lingering calf strain. The 25-year-old All-Star, who had authored a historic playoff run with 197 assists and clutch shots, confirmed his availability to ESPN's Malika Andrews before the game, saying, 'Calf's good. I'm ready to go.' Tragically, his championship dream ended early when he collapsed in the first quarter with a non-contact injury, later confirmed by his father to ESPN as a torn Achilles. Haliburton, who had already scored nine points, was helped off the court and ruled out for the game. Despite the pain, he remained a vocal leader, cheering his teammates from the sidelines on crutches. Pacers teammate TJ McConnell praised his selflessness, noting, 'That just speaks volumes to who Tyrese Haliburton is.' The injury drew heartfelt reactions from sports stars like LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes, who expressed their support on X. As the game unfolded, ESPN's broadcast came under fire for its handling of Haliburton's injury. Fans and former NBA players criticized the network for repeatedly airing footage of the moment Haliburton went down, with some alleging an inappropriate camera angle was shown. Former NBA star Detlef Schrempf took to X, demanding, 'Stop showing it again and again! Show the game!' Viewers echoed the sentiment, with one posting, 'They're gonna talk about it nonstop all game, aren't they?' The backlash highlighted a broader debate: how much focus should broadcasters place on injuries during critical moments? While acknowledging a star player's exit is standard, many felt ESPN's coverage crossed a line, detracting from the game's intensity and Haliburton's privacy. The controversy added to existing tensions, as Andrews had previously faced scrutiny over her coverage of Black players, which she addressed in 2024 as being rooted in 'falsehoods.' Amid the controversy, Malika Andrews, a prominent ESPN host, transitioned to her next assignment with poise. Having covered the Finals extensively, including pre-game interviews with Haliburton and post-game discussions with Gilgeous-Alexander, Andrews announced her latest venture on her Instagram Story. She shared that fans could catch her full conversation with the Finals MVP on NBA Today , signaling a shift from the Finals drama to fresh content. Andrews' ability to navigate high-pressure moments has been a hallmark of her coverage, though her role at ESPN remains under scrutiny as her contract's future is uncertain. Despite the network's challenges, Andrews continues to focus on delivering engaging basketball stories, maintaining her reputation as a skilled and resilient journalist. As the NBA moves to the offseason, attention turns to the upcoming draft, where the Dallas Mavericks are poised to select Duke's Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick. Meanwhile, ESPN faces the task of addressing fan concerns over its Finals coverage to rebuild trust. For Haliburton, the road to recovery from a potential season-ending Achilles injury looms large, casting uncertainty over his 2025-26 campaign. The 2025 Finals will be remembered for both triumph and heartbreak, with ESPN's coverage decisions sparking a conversation about media responsibility. As Andrews forges ahead, her ability to rise above the noise underscores her growing influence in sports journalism. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
USA Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Malika Andrews classily welcomed 'Inside the NBA' to ESPN
It's the end of an era of sorts for ESPN and on TNT: Inside the NBA is coming to the Worldwide Leader this fall for the 2025-26 season, which means we'll see that show take over studio coverage during big league events. So how did ESPN's NBA desk acknowledge that after the season ended post-Game 7 of the Finals on Sunday night? By saying it out loud and in a classy manner. Malika Andrews thanked the ESPN's NBA crew and production team, her colleagues Bob Myers, Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins. Then? She had this to say: "With gratitude and admiration, we welcome Inside the NBA in next season." Smith added a "Yes we do," and it was all so nicely done. And here's another wonderful moment from the broadcast that had A LOT of shouting: Of course, we're looking forward to seeing Chuck, Shaq, Kenny and Ernie on ESPN's airwaves next season, but good on Andrews for this acknowledgement.
