FORMER NBA DUNK CHAMP NAMED NEWEST NBA STUDIO ANALYST
Dee Brown will take his basketball prowess to the other side of the camera as ESPN's newest NBA studio analyst, the prize in the third season of ESPN's Dream Job, the first to feature former pro athletes. The former NBA guard and Slam Dunk Contest winner beat five other former NBA players -- Matt Bullard, Darryl Dawkins, J. R. Reid, Dennis Scott and Gerald Wilkins -- during the six-week competition. Upon learning of his victory, Brown executed a cartwheel across the studio floor. As the winner, Brown earned a one-year studio analyst contract with ESPN.
Hosted by Stuart Scott, last night's finale saw the last two contestants - Brown and Bullard - perform analyst-related duties, including a mock highlights segment with current Kia NBA Shootaround host John Saunders, a live interview with an athlete or coach of their choosing, and a round of rapid fire sports trivia. In the end, Bullard was cut by three consecutive votes: viewers voting at espn.com; Stephen A. Smith; Al Jaffe. The judging panel also included Kit Hoover and Woody Paige.
Brown started the finale with sharp analysis of the just-concluded Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Lakers game. That segment was followed by satellite interviews -- Bullard with new Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson and Brown with the Orlando Magic's Grant Hill. In the trivia round, Brown defeated Bullard 10-6.
This morning, in an interview with Dana Jacobson on ESPN2's Cold Pizza (8-10 a.m.), Brown compared trying out for the analyst role with the NBA Slam Dunk contest, in which he defeated Shawn Kemp in the final round. Brown said, "Basketball comes natural to me, so this was tougher. I had to get judged verbally; critiqued every week on everything I did. I take my hat off to (current ESPN studio analysts) Greg Anthony and Tim Legler; this job is not easy."
Dream Job's third season, produced by ESPN Original Entertainment in conjunction with Jumbolaya Productions, was presented by Mazda, Wendy's and Smith Barney. The series was co-created by BlondEndeavor Productions.
