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ESPN‘s hit show ‘The Jump’ has been a must-see hour program since its inception in March of 2016, according to IMDB.
Its host Rachel Nichols is a big reason why the show is a program that sports fans will tune in daily. Nichols’ work across several different platforms, not just in sports, has helped ascend her to the top of the industry. In 2015 while working at CNN, Nichols was named one of the ten most powerful voices in sports media by the Hollywood Reporter’s Andy Lewis.
The show also features a variety of basketball analysts and insiders such as Ramona Shelburne, Zach Lowe, Scottie Pippen, Tracy McGrady, Brian Windhorst, Paul Pierce, Richard Jefferson, Adrian Wojnarowski, and Amin Elhassan to name a few.
Speaking of Amin Elhassan, I talked to him a couple of years ago about what it’s like working with Rachel and with a massive smile on his face told me. “It is like playing with LeBron. It’s so easy,“ Elhassan told me.
“The best way I can put it the commissioner [Adam Silver] of the NBA knows who I am because of Rachel Nichols. I could be on ESPN or a daily NBA show and all that stuff, who by the way I’m on that show because of Rachel. She is the one that said I want Amin to be on the show a lot.“
Elhassan would continue praising Nichols.
“I owe her a lot in terms of my career and where it has gone through that and the credibility that she brings to that program there so many league personnel, teams, players, and coaches. People mainly watch that show because of Rachel and then to get introduced to people like me, and I’m thankful for that.“
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Rachel Nichols Responds to her Colleague’s Praise
Before the Dallas Mavericks took on the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, Rachel Nichols spoke to Fanatics View about a variety of different topics, including responding to Amin Elhassan attributing his opportunities at ESPN because of her.
“I’m not sure that I helped him get his start, but his middle maybe. He has been great to work with. He’s so much fun, so smart, and sees the game in a little bit of a different way some of our other analysts at ESPN with different types of backgrounds. And that is really what you wait right, and I think when we talk about diversity, everyone homes in on physical characteristics, but you really want is the diversity of thought. And you do get that from people from different backgrounds,” said Nichols.
“Amin [Elhassan] is someone that comes from a scouting background, front office background, and see the game a little bit differently from so of our guys come from a reporting background or even a playing background. It has been great to have that presence on our show, and he is so much fun to work with.”
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