Natalie Esquire Took Her Own Path to Basketball Journalism

But Esquire and her family weren’t completely out of the basketball realm. They would watch it frequently.

Growing up with an older brother, she became a huge sports fan. Even though her brother would enact certain wrestling moves he learned on her; anything her brother liked, she liked.

“My brother really liked Magic Johnson, so he was my favorite player,” she said. “My brother also liked Randall Cunningham so that’s why I like the Eagles. Patrick Ewing is Jamaican, so I liked the Knicks growing up.

“If I didn’t have my brother, [my sports fandom] may have never happened.”

She also mentioned that even though he drives her crazy with his antics, she enjoys watching Isaiah Stewart, a Detroit Pistons basketball player born to Jamaican parents.

Graduating and Choosing a University 

Esquire started high school in Florida, but would finish it in New York.

“My father did construction and he continued working in New York, while we lived in Florida,” Esquire said. “Union work isn’t, or at least at that time wasn’t, as plentiful as it is in New York [now]. Over time, my parents got tired of my father being away so much and/or having less work opportunities in Florida, so we moved back to New York when I was in high school.”

Having cultivated a desire to return to Florida to be with her friends, Esquire initially chose to attend the University of Florida.

“I hated it there,” she said. “After being away for a year, it was driving me a little crazy. I’m like there’s no chance in hell I’m coming back to this.”

In a last-minute decision, Esquire decided to enroll at Temple for her second year of college, eventually graduating from there with a degree in communications and theatre.

She mentioned that most Caribbean’s don’t usually see the arts careers as a way to make a living. Parents want their children to be accountants, doctors or lawyers. “When you migrate to another country, you put a lot on the line, said Esquire. “That’s why [my parents] were rigid about going to school and having a degree.”

College Years

After graduating, Natalie Esquire took on an internship with SLAM magazine, covering music and sports.

“My undergraduate degree was geared towards what I’m doing now. But I was getting a lot of pressure from my parents to continue my education,” she said. “So, I was like, what am I going to do now?”

Esquire (much to her parents’ liking) looked to further her education. Undecided on which graduate degree to pursue, she began to weigh her options.

“I knew I didn’t want to go to Medical school. I hated science and math. I didn’t want a business degree. So, law school just made sense,” she said. Esquire attended Hofstra University to be close to home.

Transition from Lawyer to Sports Journalist

She went on to have a successful career of 17 years of working in the legal field. She was a legal tech and a business developer for law firms, including a sports law firm.

All the while, though, Esquire was making connections, doing her podcast All Nat, and producing sports content; people were inviting her on to their platforms to talk sports, all on the side while she worked in the legal field.

“When I first joined X, I had no intentions of becoming [so popular]. I was just crazy about basketball. I wanted to join a space where I could talk with other obsessed basketball fans. I would start to gain some followers. My followers would tell me I need a podcast.”

Trying to transition to a career in sports, Esquire would get a few interviews, but nothing was going anywhere. She even had a huge opportunity in an MLB role, so she went really far into the process, but nothing ever materialized.

“I finally decided that you know what. Maybe my path will be untraditional,” she said. “So, I started my own podcast. I had goals set for myself. Can my podcast be picked up? Can I get a paid opportunity? If so, that would be a signal that I’m supposed to be doing this.”

Natalie Esquire’s podcast would eventually be picked up by Audacy, and the name of her podcast was changed to Golden Spaces, highlighting her coverage of the Golden State Warriors. What happened almost simultaneously was far beyond her expectations.

Her Hard Work Pays off

“For people that don’t know me, my path to this does seem rapid, but it really wasn’t. There were years of me trying to get into sports and building connections. Doing all of the work that goes into podcasting. Editing, chopping content up, increasing engagement, the dirty work. I was doing all of the stuff people didn’t see, but it all culminated into getting my first job with NBC in 2022.”

Even though she hadn’t worked in sports previously, her knowledge, experience and work ethic guided her to instant success. She took off in her ‘rookie season’ with NBC.

“I think NBC realized pretty quickly that they got more than they bargained for in me,” said Esquire. “A lot of people say well you didn’t work in sports; how do you do this stuff?

“Being a lawyer, I had to interview people, I had to ask questions. I was an investigator. I would sell legal products to top executives, so I had to be on camera. I would analyze both sides of things, so there’s a lot of transferable skills.”

Incorporating her new ideas and techniques into NBC, specifically on the hit show Brother from Another, NBC gave Esquire a lot of responsibility to start. She went from being hired as a social producer to being the lead producer of the show and coming up with the rundown every day.

“I would come up with the topics that the hosts would talk about,” she said. “The guests — we had a lot of new interesting guests. We even had a designated day for women in sports. Two women would come in and cover the entire show. That’s something I started and that I’m proud of.”

Golden State Warriors Reporter

Initially, upon her arrival to NBC, NBC sports Bay Area was her assignment. Within her time covering the Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area — which she still has ties to today — Esquire got to interview rising star and fan favorite rookie Brandin Podziemski. She completed an entertaining and engaging video essay on him and his contributions in the Death Lineup:

Covering the Golden State Warriors last season, Esquire got to experience something she will never forget. On Mar. 8, she and five other women broadcasted the Warriors versus Pistons game, in celebration of Women’s Empowerment.

“The Women’s Empowerment Broadcast was surreal,” said Esquire. “I did a quick pre-game hit from the court that was apart of the pre-game show. I interview Steve Kerr ahead of the game and after the game, as well as Gui Santos. I also co-hosted Dubs Talk Live with Zena Keita. Each experience was cool for me, I was honored to be a part of it.”

Gold Medal Coverage

In addition to her NBC Warriors coverage, Esquire has also been a familiar face in the network’s extensive Olympic coverage, bringing her unique perspective to the global stage. She started on the production team, covering USA men’s and women’s basketball. During that time, her assignment changed to contribute to the social team. She was clocking in at 5:00 AM, working 12-hour shifts to accommodate the Olympics’ grueling schedule.

“By the time you get to that third week, you’re like a zombie,” she said. “I think that’s consistent among everyone that covers [the Olympics]. You’re like almost counting down the days. You’re working nonstop. Then, you come to the end and start to realize, damn I did that.”

Esquire would be the first to say she’d do it all over again. Few people can say they’ve won a sports Emmy award, let alone two, an award recognizing excellence in the sports television programming.

The first award that her and her team won was for the men’s team’s gold medal game; yes, the one where Curry went completely scorched earth.  Her second award was for her incredible ability to create social content for the account On Her Turf.

“Steph Curry is my favorite player. He is the one person I lose all sense when it comes to him,” said Esquire. “So, it really worked out for me that he decided to go crazy. In the last couple of games, he heated up. But in the final game, it’s what everybody remembers. I was a part of that, and I created content for it.”

Another Career Milestone Interview 

Steph Curry might be her favorite player on the men’s side, but who’s her “G.O.A.T” on the women’s side?

Here’s a hint: she’s the only 4X MVP in the history of the league.

Esquire got to speak with A’ja Wilson a couple years ago in Las Vegas for the WNBA All-Star event.

“It was after practice or shoot-around a day before the Aces’ game, which preceded the All-Star event,” said Esquire. “I got to have a one-on-one with A’ja and it was like 10 minutes of her time. I was mind-blown to have that sort of access.”

Fast forward to four weeks ago. The Aces had just beaten the Lynx for their 13th straight win and A’ja Wilson was at the front of the MVP conversation. Esquire sat down with the Aces’ superstar to discuss her partnership with AT&T, the team getting the big win on the previous night, and A’ja elevating her game at the perfect time.

“It was a full circle moment for me,” she said. “A’ja is amazing. It was in the middle of their win streak and the MVP conversation.

“She’s everything that we think she is. A’ja Wilson is a world-class athlete, and it was a fulfilling experience to be able to talk to her.”

As she continues her career, Natalie Esquire will have many more opportunities to interview Wilson, as well as many other stars in the WNBA.

Admiration for Others

While Esquire doesn’t idolize a certain journalist, she has certainly kept an eye on the best the women’s basketball journalist industry has to offer.

“There are definitely people that I admire and respect in this space,” she said. “Isis Young is a phenomenal broadcaster. Anybody I bring on to my show is excellent. Terrika Foster-Brasby, any entity that has her, should be utilizing her more.

“Meghan Hall, I respect her work, she’s so fair and detailed; she inspires me. Callie Fin, the way she did that piece on A’ja’s bodyguard was amazing. Khristina Williams doing it independently, and the trust she’s garnered from players is amazing. There are a lot of people I admire,” she said.

Esquire also mentioned Zena Keita, Joy Taylor, Jamelle Hill, Michael Smith and Marcus Thompson as people who helped her pave her way.

Just Be Yourself. 

Just as the people above helped her, Esquire wants to do the same for young and upcoming journalists.

“I know how much work you put in, because I’ve done this,” she said. “That’s why I will always extend myself to independent journalists. That’s why I will always help them because I started out like that. Someone took a chance on me.”

Esquire, a former lawyer who started as a side-hustle podcaster, turned into a leading multi-media producer in sports. While many in the basketball world forge similar paths, she carved out her own lane.

Her legal career and early podcasting proved her valuable skills, and she has since earned her place covering the biggest events in sports, a testament to her self-made story.

“The work ethic that my family instilled in me, I believe really helped me influence how I approached changing careers and being able to do this.”