Magic Johnson leaving ESPN’s “NBA Countdown”

John Wildhack, ESPN Executive Vice President, Production:

Earvin “Magic” Johnson informed us today that he’ll no longer be part of our NBA coverage due to his other commitments. We appreciate Magic’s contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors. We are in the process of determining our NBA commentator roles for the upcoming season.

Magic Johnson’s statement:

I love ESPN.  Unfortunately, due to the nature of my schedule and other commitments, I don’t feel confident that I can continue to devote the time needed to thrive in my role. I will always feel a strong connection to the ESPN family and I enjoyed working with them very much. I’d like to thank John Skipper, John Wildhack, Mark Gross, Kim Belton, Amina Hussein, Mark Summer, Adam Hertzog, Bob Rauscher, Stuart Scott, Mike Wilbon, Jon Barry, Jalen Rose, Bill Simmons, Chris Broussard and the many others at ESPN for the wonderful opportunity to talk about the game I love. They are the best in the business.

The show was in need of another overhaul from the previous overhaul a few seasons back. It’s hard to keep up with the blue print laid out by TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”  ABC and ESPN are having a hard time finding a groove that resonates with it’s audience. And living in the shadow of EJ, Kenny, Chuck and now Shaq makes that a difficult task.

Doug Collins and Doris Burke are both joining the NBA Countdown show with Wilborn’s role being reduced.