ESPN Makes Chiney Ogwumike Announcement Amid WNBA Finals

The New York Liberty are on the precipice of history after taking a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five WNBA Finals series against the Minnesota Lynx.

The Liberty escaped the Lynx in Game 3, 80-77, after star guard Sabrina Ionescu sank a cold-blooded three-pointer from near the logo with only one second left.

This year’s WNBA Finals already broke viewership records after the first two games, averaging 1.24 million viewers, according to a report by USA Today’s Cydney Henderson. It’s a whopping 82% increase from last year’s championship skirmish between the Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces.

After Game 3, ESPN studio analyst Chiney Ogwumike took to X to express her opinion on the nip-and-tuck WNBA Finals.

“These WNBA Finals have been straight BLOOD PRESSURE,” she wrote.

Ahead of Game 4 on Friday, ESPN, which is at the forefront of the WNBA’s media coverage, announced that it re-signed Ogwumike to a multi-year extension. The amount of the deal wasn’t disclosed.

Ogwumike is one of the leading analysts of the WNBA, given her successful tenure in the league. She played for the Connecticut Sun and the Los Angeles Sparks in a seven-year career. She was named Rookie of the Year in 2014 and became a two-time All-Star.

Chiney Ogwumike poses for a photo with former United States official Condoleezza Rice.

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Aside from the WNBA, the 32-year-old Ogwumike also serves as ESPN’s studio analyst for the NBA and women’s college basketball.

ESPN also gave similar multi-year extensions to Ogwumike’s colleagues, Monika McNutt and Kendrick Perkins.