Two-time Sports Emmy award-winning producer, creator and host Natalie Esquire gives all the credit for her success to her Jamaican roots.
Imagine grabbing everything you own and migrating to another country. One might feel isolated or lonely as they travel away from their loved ones. They might develop psychological trauma from the journey. They are leaving a country that they’ve known all their lives, hoping for a new beginning.
Natalie Esquire’s parents both migrated from Jamaica. Her dad moved to the U.S. at the age of 16. Some years later, he would meet her mother on a visit to Jamaica. After the two met, they kept in touch and maintained a long-distance relationship. He would eventually propose and travel back to Jamaica to get the love of his life. They would then relocate to begin a life together in the U.S.
“They left everything they knew,” said Esquire. “My mom still had siblings in Jamaica [at the time]. I still have a lot of family in Jamaica. You’re getting up and leaving all of that behind you.”
For Natalie and her parents, their immense risk ultimately paid off, as she is not only a lawyer but also a full-time WNBA and NBA media personality who’s traveled the world to cover her all-time favorite basketball players.
Natalie Esquire’s Love for Sports
Although she was born in New York — bouncing back and forth between New York and Florida as a child — Esquire grew up ensconced in Jamaican culture.
Esquire and her family loved track and field. “My father ran track, and my brother was a track star in Florida,” said Esquire. “I did a little bit of running up until junior high, [specializing] in long distance. I didn’t play basketball, but I was a cheerleader, a good one, too. And yes, cheerleading is a sport.”
Esquire and her family were also avid basketball fans. They would watch frequently. Growing up with an older brother, she became a huge sports fan. Even though her brother would enact certain wrestling moves he learned on her; anything her brother liked, she liked.
“My brother really liked Magic Johnson, so he was my favorite player,” she said. “My brother also liked Randall Cunningham so that’s why I like the Eagles. Patrick Ewing is Jamaican, so growing up, my family liked and watched the Knicks.”
“If I didn’t have my brother, [my sports fandom] may have never happened.”
Graduating and Choosing a University
Esquire started high school in Florida. She would then split her education between Florida and New York.
“My father did construction and he continued working in New York, while we lived in Florida,” Esquire said. “Union work isn’t, or at least at that time wasn’t, as plentiful as it is in New York. Over time, my parents got tired of my father being away so much and/or having less work opportunities in Florida, so we moved back to New York when I was in high school.”
Having cultivated a desire to return to Florida to be with her friends, Esquire initially chose to attend the University of Florida.
“I hated it there,” she said. “After being away for a year, it was driving me a little crazy. I’m like there’s no chance in hell I’m coming back to this.”
In a last-minute decision, Esquire decided to enroll at Temple University for her second year of college, eventually graduating from there with a degree in communications and theater.
She mentioned that many Caribbean people who migrate don’t usually see the arts as a way to make a living. Parents want their children to be accountants, doctors or lawyers. “When you migrate to another country, you put a lot on the line,” said Esquire. “That’s why [my parents] were rigid about going to school and having a degree.”
College Years
During college, Natalie Esquire took on an internship with Harris Publications, which included SLAM and XXL magazines, sports and music magazines.
“My undergraduate degree was geared towards what I’m doing now. But I was getting a lot of pressure from my parents to continue my education,” she said. “So, I was like, what am I going to do?”
Esquire (much to her parents’ liking) looked to further her education. Undecided on which graduate degree to pursue, she began to weigh her options.
“I knew I didn’t want to go to medical school. I hated science and math. I didn’t want a business degree. So, law school just made sense,” she said.
Transition from Lawyer to Sports Journalist
She went on to have a successful 17-year career in the legal field. In addition to practicing law, Esquire worked in legal tech and managed business development for a prominent law firm, with a well-known sports practice.
All the while, though, Esquire was making connections, doing her podcast All Nat, and producing sports content; people were inviting her on to their platforms to talk sports, all on the side while she worked in the legal industry.
“When I first joined X, I had no intentions of becoming this. I was just crazy about basketball. I wanted to join a space where I could talk with other obsessed basketball fans. I would start to gain some followers. My followers would tell me I need a podcast.”
Trying to transition to a career in sports, Esquire would get a few interviews, but nothing was going anywhere. She even had a huge opportunity for an MLB role. She went really far in the interview process, but nothing ever materialized.
“I finally decided that you know what. Maybe my path will be untraditional,” she said. “So, I started my own podcast. I had goals set for myself. Can my podcast be picked up? Can I get a paid opportunity? If so, that would be a signal that I’m supposed to be doing this.”
Natalie Esquire’s podcast would eventually be picked up by Audacy, and the name of her podcast was changed to Golden Spaces, highlighting her coverage of the Golden State Warriors. What happened almost simultaneously was far beyond her expectations.
Her Hard Work Pays off
“For people that don’t know me, my path to this does seem rapid, but it really wasn’t. There were years of me trying to get into sports and building connections. Doing all of the work that goes into podcasting. Editing, chopping content up, increasing engagement, the dirty work. I was doing all of the stuff people didn’t see, but it all culminated into getting my first job with NBC in 2022.”
Even though she hadn’t worked in sports previously, her knowledge, experience and work ethic guided her to instant success. She took off in her ‘rookie season’ with NBC.
“I think NBC realized pretty quickly that they got more than they bargained for in me,” said Esquire. “A lot of people say well you didn’t work in sports; how do you do this stuff?
“Being a lawyer, I had to interview people, I had to ask questions. I was an investigator. I would sell legal products to top executives, so I had to be on camera. I would analyze both sides of things, so there’s a lot of transferable skills.”
Incorporating her new ideas and techniques into NBC, specifically on the hit show Brother from Another, NBC gave Esquire a lot of responsibility to start. She went from being hired as a social producer to being a lead producer of the show.
“I would [help] come up with the topics that the hosts would talk about,” she said. “The guests — we had a lot of new interesting guests. We even had a designated day for women in sports. Two women would come in and cover the entire show. That’s something I started and that I’m proud of.”
Golden State Warriors Coverage
Initially, before she got her shot with NBC, Esquire covered the Warriors. While at NBC Sports, NBC Sports Bay Area reached out to her to include her in pregame coverage on the Warriors. That would start in the 2023-2024 season and continued last season. During her coverage of the Warriors, Esquire got to interview rising star and fan favorite rookie Brandin Podziemski. She completed an entertaining and engaging video essay on him:
Covering the Golden State Warriors last season, Esquire got to experience something she will never forget. On March 8, she and five other women took part in NBC Sports Bay Area’s Women’s Empowerment Broadcast of the Warriors versus Pistons game, in celebration of Women’s History Month.
“The Women’s Empowerment Broadcast was surreal,” said Esquire. “I did a quick hit from the court that was a part of the pre-game show. I interviewed Steve Kerr ahead of the game and after the game, as well as Gui Santos. I also co-hosted Dubs Talk Live with Zena Keita. Each experience was cool for me, I was honored to be a part of it.”
Gold Medal Coverage
In addition to her Warriors coverage, Esquire, like many at NBC Sports, also did work for the Paris Olympics. Natalie Esquire started her Paris Olympics coverage on a production assignment. She was an associate producer focused on USA Basketball. During that time, her assignment changed to assist with social media coverage of the Olympics. She was clocking in at 5:00 AM, working 12-hour shifts to accommodate the Olympics’ grueling schedule.
“By the time you get to that third week, you’re like a zombie,” she said. “I think that’s consistent among everyone that covers [the Olympics]. You’re like almost counting down the days. You’re working nonstop. Then, you come to the end and start to realize, damn I did that.”
Esquire would be the first to say she’d do it all over again. Few people can say they’ve won a sports Emmy award, let alone two, an award recognizing excellence in sports television programming.
One of the Emmy’s that Natalie won was a team award for outstanding Live Special (for USA Basketball’s men’s gold medal game); yes, the one where Curry went completely scorched earth. Her other Emmy, also for Olympics coverage, was for outstanding interactive experience, which was awarded to NBC Sports’ social media team.
“Steph Curry is my favorite player. He is the one person I lose all sense when it comes to him,” said Esquire. “So, it really worked out for me that he decided to go crazy. In the last couple of games, he heated up. But in the final game, it’s what everybody remembers. I was a part of that, and I created content for it.”
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1821655125448089641
Another Career Milestone Interview
Steph Curry might be her favorite player on the men’s side, but who in her opinion is the “G.O.A.T” on the women’s side?
Here’s a hint: she’s the only 4X MVP in the history of the league.
Esquire got to speak with A’ja Wilson a couple years ago in Las Vegas ahead of the WNBA All-Star weekend event.
“It was after practice or shootaround, a day before the Aces’ game, which preceded the All-Star event,” said Esquire. “I got to have a one-on-one with A’ja and it was like 10 minutes of her time. I was mind-blown to have that sort of access.”
Fast forward to September 2025, the Aces had just beaten the Lynx for their 13th straight win and A’ja Wilson was at the front of the MVP conversation. Esquire sat down with the Aces’ superstar to discuss her partnership with AT&T, the team getting the big win on the previous night, and A’ja elevating her game at the perfect time.
“It was a full circle moment for me,” she said. “A’ja is amazing. It was in the middle of their win streak and the MVP conversation.
“She’s everything that we think she is. A’ja Wilson is a world-class athlete, and it was a fulfilling experience to be able to talk to her.”
As she continues her career, Natalie Esquire will have many more opportunities to interview Wilson, as well as many other stars in the WNBA.
Admiration for Others
While Esquire doesn’t idolize a certain journalist, she has certainly kept an eye on the best women’s basketball media.
“There are definitely people that I admire and respect in this space,” she said. “Isis Young is a phenomenal broadcaster. Anybody I bring on to my show is excellent. Terrika Foster-Brasby, any entity that has her, should be utilizing her more.
“Meghan Hall, I respect her work, she’s so fair and detailed; she inspires me. Callie Fin, the way she did that piece on A’ja’s bodyguard was amazing. Khristina Williams doing it independently, and the trust she’s garnered from players is amazing. There are a lot of people I admire,” she said.
As a media member, who often expresses her opinion, Esquire appreciates the handful of women who are opinionists in the sports space like Joy Taylor and Jemele Hill. Natalie is also thankful to media members like Michael Smith and Marcus Thompson who helped her along the way and provided mentorship.
Giving Back
Just as some of the people above helped her, Esquire wants to do the same for young and upcoming journalists.
“I know how much work you put in, because I’ve done this,” she said. “That’s why I will always extend myself to independent journalists. That’s why I will always help them because I started out like that. Someone took a chance on me.”
Esquire, a former lawyer who started as a side-hustle podcaster, turned into a leading multi-media producer, content creator and host in sports. While many in the basketball world forge similar paths, she carved out her own lane.
Her legal career and early podcasting proved to be valuable skills, and she has since earned her place covering the biggest events in sports, a testament to her self-made story.
“The work ethic that my family instilled in me, I believe really helped influence how I approached changing careers and being able to do this.”
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