NBA Countdown

NBA Countdown, branded for sponsorship purposes as NBA Countdown Presented by DraftKings Sportsbook for ESPN editions and NBA Countdown Presented by Papa John's for ABC editions respectively, is a pregame television show airing prior to National Basketball Association (NBA) telecasts on ABC and ESPN. The networks have aired NBA games since 2002. Typically, the program airs 30 or 60 minutes prior to the game. ESPN2 or another ESPN network may also be used as an overflow channel for the show. History 2002–2003 ABC and ESPN gained rights to air NBA games prior to the start of the 2002-03. At the time, ABC Sports operated as a separate entity from ESPN even though both were owned by Disney. Initially, the NBA pregame show was known as NBA Shootaround. The ESPN version was originally hosted by Kevin Frazier, with analyst Tim Hardaway. The original program was broadcast out of one of ESPN's Bristol studios. Some of the features the first edition of NBA Shootaround contained were Walton's World, in which NBA analyst and legend Bill Walton would speak about matters related to the NBA, and Need to Know, in which host Frazier would go over the headlines of the night's upcoming NBA action. Midway through the inaugural season, widely criticized and panned analyst Tim Hardaway was replaced with recently retired NBA guard Greg Anthony. Frazier and Anthony were the tandem for the pregame show throughout the remainder of the season.