One of basketball’s guiding lights is retiring from ESPN at the end of the month. The network announced Jackie MacMullan is calling it a career after 40 years covering the NBA and sports at large.
ESPN hired Jackie MacMullan as a senior writer in 2010 after a storied career covering the Boston Celtics for the Boston Globe. She got her start at the newspaper in 1982 and covered events outside of the hardwood like the 1986 World Series, the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, and the 1988 Olympic Games.
ESPN featured MacMullan across their various platforms. From headline columns on ESPN.com to countless appearances on SportsCenter and Around the Horn. “Jackie Mac” has been there every step of the way to inform sports fans.
“I feel fortunate to have collaborated with so many incredibly talented people during my 10-plus years at ESPN,” Jackie MacMullan said in a statement released by ESPN. “Sometimes, you just know when you’re ready to dial it back, and this is the right time for me. I’m grateful for the memories, but especially for the friends, I’ve made along the way. Thank you to my ESPN colleagues for all of your support.”
Outside of writing, Jackie MacMullan is most well known for her almost 900 appearances on Around the Horn. The final time she appears on ESPN as an employee is fittingly during the show’s Aug. 31 episode.
“Jackie is a trailblazer not because she was one of the first women covering sports or the NBA,” ESPN senior deputy editor Christina Daglas said. “Rather, Jackie is a trailblazer because people talked about her without mentioning sex or gender. It was about the work, an incredible catalog of work, that has appeared on every ESPN platform. Simply put, Jackie is one of the greatest journalists ESPN has ever seen. And she did it all while providing mentorship to both editors and writers, ensuring whether she meant to or not, that pieces of her will remain here long after she exits.”
