ESPN Presents The NBA Draft

Coming this Thursday, ESPN’s various platforms will present the NBA Draft live from The Theater from Madison Square Garden in New York. It’ll be seen live on TV, heard on radio, presented live online, on your cell phone and anywhere else ESPN wants to offer it.

Read the release.

ESPN, Inc. to Present 64th Annual NBA Draft

For the eighth consecutive year, ESPN will present live coverage of the NBA Draft – highlighted by a deep class including top prospect John Wall – Thursday, June 24, at 7 p.m. ET from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.  Stuart Scott will host ESPN’s coverage with college basketball analyst and Draft expert Jay Bilas and analysts Jon Barry and Jeff Van Gundy. For the first time, ESPN’s Draft coverage will include a “capologist,” with former Portland Trail Blazers Vice President of Basketball Operations Tom Penn analyzing the salary cap space for teams heading into the free agency period. 

Additional contributors will include:

• Fran Fraschilla, who has done extensive overseas scouting, will report on and evaluate the international field of players;
• Dick Vitale, ESPN NCAA basketball analyst since 1979 and a former NBA coach, will contribute to ESPN’s day-long news and information coverage via satellite;
• Mark Jones will conduct interviews with the NBA draftees on site once they are selected;
• Heather Cox will interview key figures (players, their families, college coaches, etc.) in the league’s Green Room;
• ESPN The Magazine senior writer Ric Bucher will cover breaking news, including trade talks;
• ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz will report on breaking NBA Draft news, along with information pertaining to college players;
• Bob Holtzman will report from Cleveland with news associated with the Cavaliers, including the latest on LeBron James and the team’s coaching search;
• Rachel Nichols will report from New York; George Smith will report from Chicago; and Shelley Smith will report from Miami.  All three teams are expected to be among the most active in free agency this offseason.

ESPN Radio will exclusively broadcast the NBA Draft, with host Marc Kestecher and analysts Will Perdue and Doug Gottlieb, at 7 p.m.  Bucher will also report news and information for ESPN Radio. Additionally, pending free agent Chris Bosh will co-host Mike & Mike in the Morning with Mike Greenberg Thursday, the day of the Draft, from 6-10 a.m.

ESPN’s multiplatform coverage will also include a live simulcast on ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV; expanded ESPNEWS coverage; ESPN Mobile Properties content; comprehensive reporting and analysis via ESPN.com; and an ESPN The Magazine Draft preview (on newsstands now).

ESPN’s Draft telecast will display a constant crawl on-screen graphic, continuously (including commercial breaks) providing up-to-date updates including picks, trades, team-by-team summaries, player stats, the results of ESPN.com’s interactive polling in real time, team needs, Bilas’ “Best Available” prospects and Fraschilla’s top international prospects.  Additionally, those viewing the NBA Draft on ESPN HD will have access to this information and more throughout the entire telecast (with information included within the side columns of the screen).

Featured NBA Draft production elements:

• Jay Bilas’ in-depth analysis of the top prospects;
• video conferencing from 13 team headquarters (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami, Memphis, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland and Washington),  providing immediate access to the key team personnel;
• highlight packages featuring all of the top prospects;
• “Draft Cam” from the draft rooms of multiple teams, including Washington (with the No. 1 pick), Minnesota, New Jersey and Philadelphia;
• behind-the-scenes video of prospects as they endured testing and measurements at the Chicago pre-Draft camp;
• a special production shoot involving several of the top players, featuring th
  e music of Grammy Award-winning artist Michael Bublé.

2010 NBA Draft Preview – June 23 at 10 p.m.
Scott, Bilas, Barry and Van Gundy will preview the NBA Draft in a live program on ESPN on Wednesday, June 23 at 10 p.m. from Madison Square Garden. Fraschilla, Penn and reporters Bucher and Katz, among others, will also contribute to the telecast. The one-hour preview – also simulcast on ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV – will include live interviews with prospects, features, athlete profiles and in-depth analysis of team needs.  ESPN2’s NBA Fastbreak will also offer NBA Draft news and information Wednesday, June 22, at 8 p.m.

Other Draft coverage via ESPN, Inc.: 

ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS will offer extensive Draft coverage with daily content including analysis, interviews with draft prospects, video conferencing from team headquarters and on-site reports. 

ESPN International
ESPN International will offer a live telecast of the NBA Draft in the Pacific Rim region.  

ESPN.com
Draft content will include:

• Draft Tracker – ESPN NBA Draft expert Chad Ford analyzes each pick and trades;
• DraftCast – a special interactive application that displays each pick in real time, plays video highlights of each player selected, shows fan comments, and posts polls;
• Player chats – after each player is selected, he will chat with fans on ESPN.com;
• Daily Dime Draft Night Live – ESPN.com reporters, analysts and bloggers will share their thoughts on the Draft and answer fan questions;
• Video – ESPN.com will post video interviews of the players once they are drafted;
• Draft grades – Ford will grade each team’s draft night performance. 

Mobile ESPN Properties
In addition to a live simulcast of the Draft, ESPN Mobile TV’s coverage will feature breaking news updates, instant analysis and a ScoreCenter recap.  Additionally, ESPN’s WAP site will have a special Draft section allowing fans to follow all the selections in real time.  Fans will also be able to sign up for mobile alerts, which will provide up-to-the-minute selection updates and breaking news. 

ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine’s current issue (on newsstands now) offers a preview of the NBA Draft including: a cover story on top candidate John Wall written by Elena Bergeron, a Mock Draft with a current player for each franchise making the selections, and “NBA Draft Confidential,” a 10-question survey featuring draft-related topics.

And we’ll be back later.