Malika Andrews urges the NBA Today guest to collect himself after he bursts out laughing on live TV
NBA Today’s Malika Andrews has proven to be a top sports host and kept the show going even as a passing Denver train drowned out the voices of her guests.
Andrews, 28, was in control of the situation, although NBA analyst Richard Jefferson burst out laughing next to her.
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Kendrick Perkins and Zach Lowe completed the NBA Today panel ahead of Monday’s fifth game of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat.
Coming from a remote studio near Ball Arena, where later in the day the Nuggets would attempt to claim their first-ever title in front of a home crowd.
The arena is located a short distance from Denver’s Union Station, the city’s main transportation hub.
And that little fact about Denver’s urban design was revealed to viewers on Monday when the loud screech of a passing train interrupted Lowe’s analysis of the finals.
Pointing to the vehicle, the NBA analyst joked it must have been “the Denver offensive freight train” that “was driving.” [the Heat over] in transition in game 4 of the series.
The Nuggets won Game 4 108-95, giving them a 3-1 lead.
The comment made Andrews laugh as she wondered how Lowe figured out what kind of move was disrupting the show.
“It’s a kind of train,” he replied. “It is very loud!”
Jefferson also chimed in, saying, “It was the longest train he’s ever seen.”
The former NBA star then burst out laughing and tried to stifle it by bowing his head as Lowe completed his analysis of Miami’s potential Game 5 schedule despite the noisy conditions.
And when Andrews saw that Jefferson was struggling, he reached out to Perkins to continue the debate.
“I’ll let Richard collect himself,” she said.
But when the loud screeching continued, Andrews paused to poke fun at the situation himself.
“Here’s my question: do trains have to go ‘choo, choo’ while moving, or can they just stay silent?” asked the host.
“Because that’s something…”
Finally, the NBA Today panel resumed the discussion, with Perk offering his thoughts on how the Heat could extend the series
Jefferson even held Perkins’ microphone close to his mouth so he could be better heard by viewers, as the noise didn’t die down for several minutes.
Last week, Perk made Andrews laugh when he used a hilarious health analog to comment on the hiring of Nick Nurse as the Philadelphia 76ers head coach.