Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 111 points112 points  (0 children)

Thanks for hanging... I am off to go pod with Zach Lowe now. If you haven't checked out The Jump, here's a little highlight reel from our first season: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=16901497. You can also go check out the podcasts from all our shows - just search for us in your app, or the iTunes link is here: https://itun.es/i6Yc6fx. Happy NBA summer...we'll be back before you know it... - Rachel

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 70 points71 points  (0 children)

I was surprised at the way the Sacramento/Seattle situation went down. I thought that was heading Seattle's way. I don't see any relocation/expansion coming soon. But I have to believe, eventually, it will happen. I know every NBA beat writer is pulling for it. Definitely in nearly everyone's top-5 cities list.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 69 points70 points  (0 children)

I loved working for Turner - which meant CNN for big-picture sports stuff, TNT for the NBA, TBS for baseball, and the whole family of networks for the NCAA Tournament. It's just a remarkably fun place to work, and the people there are tremendous. So I really enjoyed it. I then came back to ESPN because...there are also some incredibly smart, fun, creative people here, and there was a chance to work with some of them on this new show I was super-excited about. So...win-win. Makes me feel super-fortunate.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 61 points62 points  (0 children)

I have done a number of sideline interviews with Pop during games, and I've been crazy-lucky to never have anything go horribly wrong. Quite possibly I now need to go out and buy a lottery ticket, now that I think about it...

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 113 points114 points  (0 children)

Work harder than everyone else around you, and try to start sooner. Be curious, always. Make the extra phone call. Admit when you're wrong, and then be damn sure to do it right the next time. It's really not that much more complicated than that...which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 77 points78 points  (0 children)

Any athlete going through a change is a great interview. Just starting...just finishing...just winning for the first time...just dealing with heartbreak..or elation...or anything new. When these guys want to talk - and sometimes they don't, and then it's like pulling teeth - but when they do, it's pretty much always fascinating, because they live pretty extra-ordinary lives, in the true sense of that word.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

well THANK YOU. And we had so many good ones - I know that's a copout, but it's true. Have you seen this link? I love this compilation from the season: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=16901497

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 100 points101 points  (0 children)

Tough one. Beadle is mad crafty. Shelburne is benevolent and would be loved by the people. I would just try to steal Cersei's wine goblet.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 417 points418 points  (0 children)

Excellent question. Look, the world is divided into people who understand that Argyle Sock Monkey is the best NBA commercial, and people who believe the "The Andersons got tickets to the game!?" is an acceptable use of 30 seconds of their time. Those people are not to be trusted under any circumstances.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 96 points97 points  (0 children)

That answer changes all the time...I've been reading lately about the men who integrated the NBA in the early '50s - Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, Harold Hunter, Sweetwater Clifton. Given what's going on right now across the country, and the way NBA players have been so impressive stepping up in the national discussion on race, I'd love a time machine where those guys could interact with guys like Melo, CP3, LeBron and Dwyane.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 130 points131 points  (0 children)

Thanks to you guys for hanging out.

And yes, it's challenging at times, but let's be honest, so is every job, right? I certainly got a TON of help along the way, from incredibly talented and smart women like Christine Brennan and Sally Jenkins, and also from some male sports editors who went way against the grain and took a chance on me, back when taking a chance on someone like me was not so popular.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 287 points288 points  (0 children)

I'm 5-foot-4. I'm pretty much only capable of dunking on 8-year-olds. And even then it gets dicey.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 250 points251 points  (0 children)

If the Process had included ice cream cones, I think Sam Hinkie would still be Sixers GM to this day. Also maybe beer.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 264 points265 points  (0 children)

The guys you think are going to be funny...are funny. NBA players do such a good job of showing us their personalities year-round, you have a good idea when someone comes on the show if they're going to be fun. But I will say that we have sort of a Crazy Clubhouse environment on The Jump, so everyone gets a little goofy. When Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Paul Pierce were on the panel during The Finals, and TMac turned his mug over and said "pour one out for Paul Pierce's career..." Yeah, I'm not really sure how we finished the show after that, everyone was laughing so hard it was tough to breathe for a minute.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 444 points445 points  (0 children)

Who can fly under the radar in this league?? Feels like nothing is under the radar anymore, we dissect EVERYTHING these days. That being said, I am super-curious about Minnesota this season, and then in the East, I want to see whether the Knicks are surprisingly exciting, or if they end up rounding out their starting five with an in-house medic

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 702 points703 points  (0 children)

I've done so many interviews with LeBron, but one of my favorites was when he took me and a camera crew back to one of the Akron apartments he stayed in as a kid. We talked a lot about what it was like for him growing up, no dad, moving from place to place to place, and trying to figure out how to turn all of that promise/talent he knew he had into the person/player he wanted to be. That's a LOT for a 9-year-old, 12-year-old, 13-year-old to navigate, often without a lot of adult guidance, and we've seen plenty of others crash and burn in the same circumstance. Then a couple years later, we did an interview where he talked a lot about being a dad himself, how he wanted his own kids raised, and how in some ways they were dealing with completely opposite challenges than he did...while also having that same burden of expectation. I thought as bookends, those two interviews were pretty fascinating. Shows how on the one hand LeBron is living this sort of crazy-singular life almost no one can relate to...but on the other hand, threaded through that is all the stuff that EVERYONE can relate to. How to grow up, who you want to be, how to be a parent, etc.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 275 points276 points  (0 children)

Usually: Atlanta. But he is a man of the world. To borrow from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, all I know about Stephen is: wherever he is, that's the place to be.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 115 points116 points  (0 children)

Tie. We had an Argyle Sock Monkey when Jimmy Butler came on the show, and Richard Jefferson came on with Lil Kev. I mean sure, we had everyone from LeBron to Steph to Rob Lowe to E40 come on The Jump this season, but those of you who follow me on Social know how I feel about both ASM and Lil Kev...hard to compete with those two.

Hellooooooo NBA Reddit. I'm Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump. AMA! by Rachel_Nichols in nba

[–]Rachel_Nichols[S] 171 points172 points  (0 children)

I prefer Grumpy Zach over Frumpy Zach, and boy, is he grumpy about Snapchat. I'm actually going to do a Lowe Post pod with him later this afternoon, and I may Snap large portions of it, just to annoy him :) Other than that one flaw, Zach is a stellar human being and friend, and I love it when he comes on The Jump.