Hornets–Suns first NBA game with female analysts on both telecasts
Wednesday night’s game between the Suns and Hornets marked the first time in NBA history a game featured female analysts on both home and away telecasts.
With Hornets broadcaster Stephanie Ready and Suns broadcaster (and vice president) Ann Meyers Drysdale each working their respective calls, the game marked a milestone for the league and within what has long been a male-dominated profession.
Ready tweeted before the game sharing her excitement to work alongside Meyers Drysdale, a Hall of Famer who enjoyed a decorated playing career, became the first woman to participate in an NBA tryout in 1980 with the Pacers and was a member of the U.S. national team. Meyers Drysdale, a longtime broadcaster, has worked for ESPN and the Indiana Pacers and joined the Suns as a color analyst in 2012.
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Ready became the first full-time female NBA game analyst prior to this season, working alongside Eric Collins and Dell Curry in the Hornets’ booth. She became the first female coach of a men’s professional team in 2001, working for the now-defunct Greenville Groove in the NBDL.
This post was updated to reflect that the Greenville Groove, and not the NBDL, no longer exists.
