Warriors’ TV team adds Chris Mullin, Jennifer Azzi, Brian Shaw
Cable network announces its coverage plans for first season in the Chase Center
NBC Sports Bay Area is loading up on star power for a new era of Warriors basketball.
The regional sports cable network announced Monday that it has added Chris Mullin, Jennifer Azzi and Brian Shaw to its roster of studio analysts for the 2019-20 season. On a rotating basis, they’ll take over for Kelenna Azubuike, who moves from the studio to the network’s in-game coverage with longtime play-by-play man Bob Fitzgerald and sideline reporter Kerith Burke.
NBC Sports Bay Area (NBCSBA) is set to televise — and stream — 70 regular-season Warriors games, beginning with the Oct. 27 game at Oklahoma City. (TNT will air the Oct. 24 home opener). NBCSBA will also present three preseason contests.
Mullin, Azzi and Shaw bring an extraordinary amount of hoop cred — as well as strong Bay Area ties — to NBCSBA’s pre- and post-game programming as the Warriors begin their first season in San Francisco’s Chase Center. They will work alongside host Greg Papa and returning analyst Garry St. Jean.
In addition, former women’s college basketball star Blair Hardiek will join Drew Shiller and Grant Liffmann for select games as an analyst on “Warriors Outsiders” programming.
Mullin is the big “get.” He played most of his 16-year NBA career with the Warriors and is one of the most beloved members of the franchise. He also spent time in the team’s front office, is a Hall of Famer and was a member of that first illustrious Olympic Dream Team. Most recently, he served as the head coach at St. John’s University, his alma mater, from 2015 to 2019.
Mullin also has proven that he can handle himself around a microphone. During the NBA’s recent postseason, he filled in for St. Jean for a few nights during Golden State’s playoff run and his on-camera performance was nearly as smooth as his jump shot. He also popped up occasionally on “The Jump,” ESPN’s popular NBA roundtable show. He previously served as an NBA analyst for three seasons with ESPN.
“This will be a little different,” Mullin said in an interview posted on NBC Bay Area’s MyTeams app. “… I’m kind of looking forward to really just locking in on the Warriors and just one opponent, as opposed to covering the whole league on a nightly basis. I think it’ll be a lot more fun.”
Azzi was a standout at Stanford, where she led the Cardinal women to two Pac-10 titles and their first national championship in 1990. After earning nearly every individual honor possible at Stanford, she went on to become one of the founding members of the American Basketball League (ABL) as a star for the San Jose Lasers.
Azzi also played for three WNBA teams and was a key member of the United States gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic squad. Most recently, Azzi was the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of San Francisco (2010-2016), ending her coaching career with a WCC Championship. She is currently serving as associate vice president of development at USF.
Azzi’s hiring continues a trend at the NBC regional networks to incorporate more women into their sports programming. Recently, NBC Sports California announced that Kendall Coyne Schofield, a member of the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team, will provide in-game analysis for select Sharks games.
Shaw, an Oakland native and graduate of Bishop O’Dowd High School, played 14 seasons in the NBA with the Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. Most notably, he was a member of LA’s back-to-back-to-back title teams (2000, 2001 and 2002). Following his playing career, Shaw spent seven seasons (2005-2011) as an assistant with the Lakers, who won two NBA titles while he was a member of the coaching staff. He also was the head coach of the Denver Nuggets for two seasons (2013-2015).
NBCSBA has yet to announce how the studio time will be divided among the three new analysts, but Mullin reportedly will work all 41 of the Warriors’ home games.