Tristan Thompson has Kris Jenner to thank for his gig as an NBA analyst with ESPN.
During the latest episode of “The Kardashians” on Hulu, Jenner explained how she made a few phone calls to ABC and Disney on a Friday, and Thompson had the job by the next Monday.
The veteran center, who signed with the Cavaliers in September, served as an analyst on ESPN’s “NBA Today” and “SportsCenter” shows in Los Angeles before the Lakers signed him in April to add depth for the 2023 playoffs.
“I appreciate you helping make this all happen,” Thompson told Jenner, who serves as the manager for her famous brood, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner.
“This is a dream,” Jenner, 68, said.
“I mean, the fact that we could have that call on a Friday and they said, ‘Can you start Monday?’ That never happens to anyone.”
Jenner — who also takes a 10 percent cut of the amount of money earned from her kids’ deals — explained in a confessional how she helped secure Thompson’s ESPN gig.
“I was able to reach out to ABC [and] Disney and really express how talented I thought Tristan was, and how they would really benefit from him being a part of the ESPN team, for example,” she recalled.
“It’s about the art of negotiating,” Thompson, 32, said. “It’s what you’ve mastered.”
“When it’s that easy, it’s a lot of fun,” Jenner added. “It’s so rewarding for me.”
Thompson previously dated Jenner’s daughter, Khloe, with whom he shares daughter True, 5, and son Tatum, born in August 2022 via surrogate.
The exes have remained close friends while co-parenting their children and Thompson temporarily lived with Khloe after his mother died in January 2023.
That same month, Thompson was hired mostly to provide commentary with LeBron James, who was approaching the NBA’s career scoring record, ESPN “NBA Today” coordinating producer Hilary Guy told Andscape.
Thompson worked closely with Guy, as well as “NBA Today” host Malika Andrews on how to break down film on television and prepare for the show.
Thompson hopes to break into television after he’s done playing basketball, and aspires to have a career similar to former Super Bowl champion Michael Strahan, who he said mentored him on his ESPN television appearances.
A two-time Emmy Award winner, Strahan currently serves as a co-host on “Good Morning America” and an NFL analyst for Fox Sports.
“He’s the blueprint, and that’s who I want to be,” Thompson told Andscape. “That’s the GOAT in my eyes, Michael Strahan.
“What he’s able to do, his transition from being a Super Bowl champ with the Giants to doing, whether we’re doing game shows to doing ‘Mike and Kelly,’ doing ‘Good Morning America,’ but also doing the first couple gigs with Fox. That’s exactly the blueprint that I want to follow.”
Thompson is entering his 13th season with the Cavaliers, who selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-9 center won a championship alongside James with Cleveland in 2016.
“So, I want to keep playing for as long as I can,” he said. “And when that time does come, and it comes to an end, then I definitely want to transition to TV.”
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