Two former New York basketball stars are joining ESPN this season.
Former Nets legend and coach Jason Kidd and ex-Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin will join the Worldwide Leader’s rotation of NBA commentators, the network revealed on Thursday.
Kidd moves over to the broadcast side of the game after five seasons as head coach of the Mavericks.
The Hall-of-Fame point guard was relieved of his post after Dallas went 26-56 in Cooper Flagg’s rookie season and now finds himself part of the ESPN family.
“Excited to join @ESPN for the 2026–27 season!” Kidd wrote on X after the news was announced. “Looking forward to working with some amazing colleagues and legends of the game, and providing my perspective in the studio for @ESPNNBA Countdown!”
Kidd will be part of the “new-look” team for “NBA Countdown,” and he will serve as an analyst on select games carried by ESPN.
The addition of Kidd on “NBA Countdown” will add him to a program that includes Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst.
Lin had appeared part-time for ESPN during the 2025-26 season, appearing in March and then being part of the network’s coverage of the Knicks’ run during the NBA Finals.
He will be a regular contributor on “NBA Today” and serve as a game analyst.
Kidd and Linn join a rotation of analysts that includes Richard Jefferson, Tim Legler, Doris Burke, and P.J. Carlesimo.
Kidd was a 10-time All-Star and reached the Finals twice in New Jersey before being a key part Dallas’ championship-winning team in 2010-11.
Lin became a household name during the 2011-12 season during “Linsanity” when he led the Knicks to a surprise winning streak that February.
The 2026-27 season will mark the 25th consecutive NBA campaign that ESPN has had coverage of.
