ESPN announced Thursday that Jason Kidd is joining the network as an NBA analyst, part of its commentator roster unveiling for a 25th consecutive NBA season.
The role is a dual one. Kidd will work as a game analyst on select broadcasts and as a studio analyst on NBA Countdown, ESPN and ABC’s pregame, halftime and postgame show. He fills the Countdown seat vacated by Michael Malone.
The New Countdown Desk
Malika Andrews hosts, with Kidd alongside Kendrick Perkins, Brian Windhorst and Shams Charania. Kenny Smith appears on select shows.
ESPN hired Jeremy Lin in the same announcement, as a game analyst and a regular contributor to NBA Today. Lin had contributed to the network’s 2026 NBA Finals and Summer League coverage.
Marc Stein broke the Kidd hiring first. Andrew Marchand and Dan Shanoff of The Athletic followed on October 5 with a report that Kidd was in advanced talks for the Countdown job. ESPN made it official Thursday.
Kidd has little to no prior television experience, per Sports Media Watch, which makes this a significant bet on a name rather than a résumé.
How He Became Available
Kidd and the Mavericks mutually agreed to part ways on May 19, 2026. Stein first reported the split. Charania reported that president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and owner Patrick Dumont made the decision, which came a little more than two weeks after Ujiri was named president.
Chris Mannix of SI reported that Kidd walked away from four years and more than $40 million remaining on his contract.
Several outlets have characterized it as a firing. The team’s own language and Stein’s reporting describe it as mutual, which is the version worth using.
“Jason has had a meaningful impact on the Dallas Mavericks,” Ujiri said in the team’s release. “We are thankful for Jason’s leadership, his professionalism and his commitment to the team.” He added that “we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team.”
The Record He Leaves Behind
Kidd was hired in Dallas on June 28, 2021 and went 205-205 in 410 regular-season games, with a 22-18 mark in 40 playoff games. He reached the Western Conference Finals in 2021-22 at 52-30 and the NBA Finals in 2023-24 at 50-32.
The last two years were the problem. Dallas went 39-43 and then 26-56, which produced the ninth pick, and the Mavericks missed the playoffs twice after the Luka Doncic trade.
His career head-coaching record across 10 seasons with Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Dallas is 388-395, with a 31-33 playoff mark.
He Still Wants to Coach
That is the part worth watching, and Kidd said as much in August at an NBA House Philippines event, answering a question from Delfin Dioquino of Rappler.
“Yeah, I think I love coaching,” Kidd said. “I love to watch players get better. I want to win. I want to help the team win.”
Then the line that frames this hire: “And so I would never say no to coaching. Maybe somewhere down the future.”
He said he was at home trying to enjoy his family and “just trying to help others now that I’m not coaching,” and that he stays in touch with players including Jalen Brunson.
What This Really Is
Studio work is where out-of-work coaches wait. Kidd is 53, a Naismith Hall of Famer, a 10-time All-Star and a 2011 champion as a player, and he took a television job rather than a front-office one.
No Kidd quote about the ESPN role exists publicly, and ESPN did not specify how many games he will call or when he debuts. Both omissions fit a hire that may be temporary by design.
Expect him on a bench again. The desk is the holding pattern.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
