Rachel Nichols Deserves Another Chance
For the first time in nearly five seasons, the NBA is in the national discussion for reasons other than its self-inflicted politicization and concerningly high declines in viewership. Even during Super Bowl week, the NBA is a topic of conversation following the Mavericks' shock trade of Luka Doncic, a 25-year-old generational talent.
The increased focus on the NBA has allowed certain reporters and pundits to show their worth. Spoiler: Kendrick Perkins still has major problems with white players. Also, Brian Windhorst is the most connected reporter in all of sports. Windhorst is quietly one of the few irreplaceable talents that ESPN employs today.
The other media winner is Rachel Nichols. Yes, that Rachel Nichols.
For background, ESPN parted ways (err, fired) with Nichols in 2021 after someone leaked a privately recorded phone call in which Nichols attributed race to the network promoting Maria Taylor over her as the host of the NBA Finals.
Nichols had agreed to a contract with ESPN to host the Finals, and the network had begun to promote her as such. Yet following George Floyd's death, ESPN changed its mind. The network decided it preferred to see a black woman assume the role instead.
Put simply, ESPN violated the terms of the contract by elevating a host with no experience covering the NBA over Nichols on account of BLM. ESPN then fired Nichols for noticing.
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 29: ESPN reporter, Rachel Nichols talks during the 2021 NBA Draft on July 29, 2021 at the Barclays Center, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Michael J. LeBrecht II/NBAE via Getty Images)
Rachel Nichols Was Controversially Fired From ESPN
Consider that the audio did not leak until a year later, amidst Taylor's unreasonable demand that ESPN pay her around $8 million a year. Someone held on to the audio clip for 11 months, only to leak it as a last-ditched leverage play for Taylor.
Look, OutKick has criticized Nichols' coverage of North Carolina over a transgender bathroom bill and BLM (as in the Marxist political movement). Her coverage was weak. Nonetheless, she earned the position as host of the Finals, having covered the NBA at the highest level for decades.
Moreover, Nichols remains one of the most connected NBA voices in the industry. Notice that the clips currently making the rounds of LeBron James calling Doncic "his favorite player" are clips Nichols recorded herself. She also provided actual, unique content about the trade on "The Herd" this week.
Meanwhile, the most promoted NBA talents, such as Perkins, Monica McNutt, and Malika Andrews, are just parroting what others say. They have no insight of their own. They have no idea why the Mavs traded Luka or how the teams feel about it. (Perkins is probably just mad a white boy is in the news.)
Of course, Nichols is not completely out of the industry. She is more relevant than, say, Michelle Beadle. Nichols still covers games on her own, makes appearances on FS1, and does some podcasting with All The Smoke Productions.
But, as you see, she is well underserved.
One would think that with the expansion of NBA broadcast partners, Nichols would have landed a more prominent job by now. Yet there is no sign that Amazon and NBC have expressed any interest.
Already, Amazon has named social media influencer Taylor Rooks the host of its upcoming NBA pregame show. The problem: Rooks lacks the requisite journalism skills to anchor a show – we saw that when she interviewed Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill after his September arrest.
Take a look:
Networks Have Seemingly Ignored Nichols
However, Amazon chose Rooks over Nichols.
We shouldn't be surprised. Nichols was dishonestly framed as a racist and Amazon executives like Amina Hussein are afraid to bring her back into the mainstream.
Corporate cowardice is a virus.
In reality, Rachel Nichols is not a racist but a victim of racism. There's a difference.
And therein lies the inherent flaw with the sports media in 2025. Some of the most credible figures in the industry take a backseat to their more PR and social-media-friendly counterparts.
In actual meritocracy, Rachel Nichols would be one of the first NBA media talents drafted, given her résumé. Yet because of the DEI-ization of the NBA media, she is stuck posting clips on X while networks pay for the services of J. A. Adande (who defended the genocide in China), David Dennis Jr., and William C. Rhoden for their NBA coverage.
Michael Wilbon told me in a 2018 interview, "Bobby, everyone in the league respects Rachel. Everyone." Too bad GQ profiles matter more to decision makers than respect among players and coaches.
Do you not see a problem with all of this? Apparently, NBC and Amazon don't.
"Hey, Bobby, you are just shilling for Rachel because she likes you and agrees with you. Trump sucks," some dork on Bluesky is about to write about me.
Nope. I'm pretty sure Nichols, a California liberal, doesn't like me and disagrees with 95% of what I say. (And Trump is crushing it.)
The fact of the matter is that Nichols should have a network job covering the NBA, but doesn't, because of the painfully fractured state of the industry. Everyone in and around the NBA knows that but is too afraid to say it.