For most basketball players, the NBA Draft is one of the most anticipated and exciting days of their career. And the reporters covering the event know the elation is contagious, according to ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
“It’s the day you get to see young people’s dreams come true, you know?” Andrews, 30, tells PEOPLE.
PEOPLE spoke with the basketball reporter ahead of this year’s NBA Draft, which begins Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
During the interview, Andrews explained what it’s like to help facilitate the marquee event, which is highlighted by basketball’s brightest young stars achieving their lifelong dreams and sharing the memorable moment with family and friends.
“For a lot of these young [people], it’s the moment that they have been working toward their entire life and they get to share that with the people that mean the most to them, who helped them get there,” Andrews says. “And so when we’re sitting up on the stage, behind the tables of players who are waiting to hear their names called, and they’re decked out in their outfits that they’ve taken all this time to kind of put together, and they’re with their family, smiling ear to ear. It’s just a joyful, joyful day that can only happen when you’ve had your eyes set on making it into the league for so long, and that moment finally comes to fruition.”
The NBA Draft is where fans can see their favorite team’s fortunes turn on a dime – such as when the Dallas Mavericks received the No. 1 overall draft pick, which they are expected to use to take the highly touted Duke forward Cooper Flagg. The news came just months after trading away star forward Luka Doncic last season, leaving many fans feeling disappointed in the team and its front office.
Other stars of this year’s NBA Draft include Rutgers guards Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, and Texas’ Tre Johnson. In total, the NBA will welcome 60 new players over the course of its two-round draft.
“It’s just about a dream coming true,” Andrews says. “That’s why it’s one of my favorite assignments.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE
Malika Andrews and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Andrews experienced one of her own most memorable career highlights at the NBA Draft in 2022 when she became the first woman to ever host the annual event. The ESPN reporter, who first joined the network in October 2018, tells PEOPLE she’s “such a basketball fan” and covering moments of individual success, such as the NBA Draft or when the NBA Finals MVP is announced, are some of her most cherished times as a reporter.
“It’s the moment where a guy who has been thinking about what it would be like his whole life … getting to win, and getting to soak in that moment. And then I get to be a person who gets to help relay their message to the world,” Andrews says of those instances. “That’s what this is all about. To watch that and to witness that type of greatness, there’s just like this almost childish glee of getting to do something that you’ve worked so hard for. It’s something that I don’t take for granted.”
Read the original article on People
