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ESPN Announces Stephen A. Smith News Amid NBA Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Escarpio | Last updated Nov 18, 2025 11:13 AM ET

Stephen A. Smith has been a longtime staple on the ESPN network. In March, Smith signed a new contract, paying him over $100 million for the next five years.

It made Smith the highest-paid talent at ESPN. He appears on ESPN's NBA coverage as well as "Monday Night Countdown” during the NFL season.

He is most commonly known for his role on "First Take," which he hosted with Skip Bayless before Bayless left the network.

Smith has been a common face on the "NBA Countdown" show on ESPN. He joined in 2003, when the show was called "NBA Shootaround," and remained there when it transitioned to "NBA Countdown."

Television personality Stephen A. Smith speaks onstage.(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

The new crew was announced for "NBA Countdown," and Smith was not part of the list, according to the official release from ESPN.

The new crew includes Kendrick Perkins, former NBA head coach Michael Malone, Brian Windhorst and Shams Charania, with Malika Andrews as the host for the third season.

While this may be a surprise for many, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic suggested such a move when Smith signed his new deal back in March.

"Smith will not be a regular on ESPN’s premiere NBA pregame show anymore, though he could still make occasional appearances on top basketball studio programs, as well as the “Monday Night Football” pregame or during other big time events," Marchand wrote.

Marchand also added that Smith would be "scaling back some of his other required appearances on the network" and have more time to discuss politics.

Still, it will take time to get used to seeing the "NBA Countdown" show without Smith on it.

The new show and crew will debut on Wednesday, November 19, at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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