Maria Taylor lands prominent new media gig

Maria Taylor’s duties with NBC are expanding in a big way.

The veteran sports host Taylor has been named NBC Sports’ new lead studio host for their coverage of the NBA and the WNBA, Richard Deistch of The Athletic reported Monday. Taylor is set to host NBA studio shows on Sunday and Tuesday night as part of the network’s return to NBA coverage beginning with the 2025-26 season. She will also host select WNBA games on NBC and Peacock when the network starts broadcasting the WNBA starting in spring 2026, Deitsch adds.

Additionally, Taylor who has been at NBC Sports since 2021 is getting a contract extension as part of the deal. Deitsch notes that she has signed a multi-year extension that will keep her working at NBC deep into the 2020s.

Taylor, 38, first rose to prominence during her time at ESPN, where she worked at from 2013-21. She began as a sideline reporter for college football games and eventually worked her way into studio hosting. Taylor also began covering the NBA later on in her tenure with ESPN, most notably serving as the host of “NBA Countdown.”

But Taylor ended up leaving ESPN after a dispute over her salary and after some controversial leaked comments that her former colleague Rachel Nichols made about her. After then joining NBC, Taylor has gone on to cover multiple sports for them, including the NFL, college football, tennis, and the Olympics.

Now Taylor is set to lead a star-studded cast on NBC’s studio coverage of the NBA next season. Among her new co-stars will be some very well-known former NBA standouts.