Mike Greenberg made his debut at the host of ESPN’s NBA Countdown on Wednesday night.
The longtime ESPN personality was somewhat of a surprising choice to host the network’s NBA pregame show, following the departure of Maria Taylor and the ousting of Rachel Nichols.
However, Greenberg is clearly extremely highly thought of by ESPN’s executives and he’s been given another big opportunity. Greenberg, along with Michael Wilbon, Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose, made his debut on the show on Wednesday night.
The show was live from Madison Square Garden before tipoff between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
The new NBA Countdown crew and a fan 😉 pic.twitter.com/DMcMZzyxd2
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 20, 2021
The reaction to Greenberg’s debut performance is mostly negative on social media. Of course, it’s just night one.
On that note, early thoughts on the era? pic.twitter.com/qwnfSXX1ot
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 20, 2021
Greenberg had a pretty awkward moment with Knicks star Julius Randle at the end of the pregame show.
Coolest cat in the building @PFTCommenter pic.twitter.com/92Eg75g7uq
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) October 20, 2021
Most NBA fans didn’t seem to be happy to see Greenberg on the air on Wednesday night. Perhaps the chemistry will develop better as the season goes on.
Of course, Greenberg wasn’t the only aspect of Countdown that received criticism.
“Forcing me to listen to Jalen Rose, Stephen A. Smith, Mike Greenberg, and Michael Wilbon pregame is torture,” one fan tweeted.
“I was excited about NBA Countdown… then I heard and saw Mike Greenberg,” another fan added.
“I’m sorry but got to throw the flag on Greenberg. Did better than I expected with the draft but the chemistry and flow here just felt very off. It’s early but this actually felt like a step back from last year,” Ben Koo added.
I’m sorry but got to throw the flag on Greenberg.
Did better than I expected with the draft but the chemistry and flow here just felt very off. It’s early but this actually felt like a step back from last year https://t.co/AB2RfDtsmM
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) October 20, 2021
ESPN has changed up its NBA Countdown crew a lot in recent years. It will be interesting to see how long this crew sticks together.
The post NBA World Reacts To Mike Greenberg’s Performance Tonight appeared first on The Spun.
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