As the host of ESPN’s NBA Today and NBA Countdown, Malika Andrews has become one of the network’s most prominent figures. However, her journey began as a college student at the University of Portland, where she was thrilled to receive recognition from Adrian Wojnarowski, who read her work.
On Wednesday, Andrews appeared on Andrew Marchand’s podcast, The Main Event, sharing insights about her career in sports media. She recalled how an encounter with Wojnarowski, who reviewed her article about the hiring of former Trail Blazers star Terry Porter, profoundly impacted her. “Adrian Wojnarowski came to campus to interview Terry Porter for the Woj pod at the time,” said Andrews. “Woj is such a newspaper purist; while on campus, he picked up a newspaper with Terry’s face on it. He read it and didn’t think it was terrible.
At the Nike Hoops Summit a few weeks later, while covering the event as a stringer for the AP, I saw him and nervously approached. I was shaking because he is a legendary writer. This was before his fame from tweets and breaking news; I admired his masterful way of crafting phrases. When I introduced myself, he recognized me and said, ‘Oh, Malika Andrews, did you write that story on Terry Porter?’ I was stunned—it’s as if he told me I won the lottery. Knowing he remembered my work was incredibly special to me; I still keep that story somewhere.”
CLIP; Woj discovered Malika Andrews at the University of Portland https://t.co/nAlBgJVRT6 pic.twitter.com/8zEQazql45
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) April 9, 2025
Wojnarowski later showed Andrews’ work to ESPN editors, which ultimately led to her hiring just three years after their first meeting. They worked together at ESPN from Andrews’ hiring in 2018 until Wojnarowski’s retirement from the sports media industry in September 2025.
Since his departure to join the St. Bonaventure Men’s Basketball program, many former colleagues have spoken about Wojnarowski’s impact on the sports media landscape. Andrews’ reflections further attest that while Wojnarowski was exceptional in his role, his ability to spot talent was even greater, as evidenced by Malika Andrews’ impressive contributions to ESPN’s NBA coverage.
