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Looking for the best sports podcast to listen to while working out or driving?
Watching games is fun, but if you’re the type who likes to listen to game analyses, athlete interviews, sports documentaries, and more, then check out our compilation of the best sports podcasts we feel are worth listening to.
Whichever podcast you choose from the list below, one thing’s for sure – you’re guaranteed to come out a smarter (and hopefully entertained) sports fan.
What is a sports podcast?
A sports podcast covers topics related to sports and athletes. It can include sports news, predictions, game analyses, discussions, and interviews with celebrities and sports figures.
15 Best Sports Podcasts in 2024
Below is a list of the best podcasts in the sports world that you won't want to miss.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
Host: Bill Simmons
Sports: American Football, Basketball
As the founder and creator of The Ringer, a popular sports website, and a former employee of ESPN, Bill Simmons has worked in the sports industry for many years. So there’s a reason why this podcast is one of the most listened to – few people can beat Bill on his knowledge of sports (as well as pop culture).
The podcast mostly focuses on NFL and NBA. The best episodes are when he brings on popular celebrities, athletes, and media figures, and they all discuss their favorite topic – sports. Popular guests from the past include Barack Obama, Matt Damon, Ethan Hawke, and many more.
Why it’s worth a listen: Bill Simmons keeps things interesting by mixing sports and pop-culture-related topics. He’s also among the best interviewers in sports and podcasting.
ESPN Daily
Host: Pablo Torre
Sports: American football, soccer, basketball, tennis, and other popular sports
After the smash success of The New York Times podcast, The Daily, ESPN followed suit and launched ESPN Daily. Formerly hosted by Mina Kimes, it’s now hosted by Pablo Torre, a sports journalist, and writer. And like The Daily, the podcast takes an in-depth approach to the biggest sports stories of the day. Using the vast network of sports journalists under the ESPN umbrella, you get in-depth analyses of the day’s most interesting sports stories.
Why it’s worth a listen: ESPN Daily is the podcast to listen to if you want to be more informed than your friends about the best daily news in the sports world.
The Mina Kimes Show (Featuring Lenny)
Host: Mina Kimes and Lenny
Sports: American football
Speaking of Mina Kimes and ESPN (once again), we have The Mina Kimes Show. In each episode, Kimes brings on a different guest to discuss American football.
Kimes is a cut above most analysts and is known for her great insights into the sport. Add to that her fantastic dry humor, and you’re in for an entertaining hour (or more!).
Why it’s worth a listen: The Mina Kimes Show has everything you want from a football podcast – detailed division breakdowns, player insights you won’t find anywhere else, and a great rotating and entertaining set of co-hosts.
(P.S. If you’re wondering who’s Lenny, it’s the adorable dog who is the show’s co-host!)
The Lowe Post
Host: Zach Lowe
Sport: Basketball
Zach Lowe is one of the smartest guys in basketball and is one of the best basketball podcast hosts in the scene. The guests he invites on the show are usually NBA players or media colleagues. When talking to the NBA players, he usually gets them to talk about their life, specific team dynamics, and locker room gossip.
Why it’s worth a listen: If you're interested in learning how the NBA operates (both on and off the court), this podcast is for you. You’ll find nuanced discussions on the sport that you’d be hard-pressed to find on any other podcast.
Pardon My Take
Host: Dan Katz
Sports: American football, basketball, UFC, and more
Pardon My Take is associated with Barstool Sports and is hosted by Dan Katz, a talented interviewer. Dan’s unique ability is that he can make his guests (usually athletes) open up about their personal lives and have an honest and open conversation.
Each show episode usually has three parts – starting with the recent news in the sports world, followed by an interview with a sports personality, and then finally, a special segment (which can be just about anything). While the show covers all types of sports, it mainly focuses on football. Keep in mind that it’s a comedy podcast, and many of the jokes are in the ‘R’ rated category.
Why it’s worth a listen: Listen to the show if you want game recaps, interviews with athletes, predictions about future games, and other sports talk. In addition to providing valuable information, the show is hilarious and will make you chuckle quite a bit.
The Pat McAfee Show 2.0
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Host: Pat McAfee
Sport: American football
Hosted by former Indianapolis Colts punter and current wrestling color commentator Pat McAfee, the show discusses everything from football to the most exciting current happenings in pop culture. His guests are usually NFL players and various celebrities. Despite being a celebrity himself, Pat comes off as your everyday (rather hilarious) Joe. He also lacks a filter, which makes for great entertainment.
Why it’s worth a listen: This podcast is a must-listen if you’re a Colts or Packers fan. But even if you’re interested in American football in general, Pat’s infectious energy and remarkable storytelling make this an enjoyable podcast for all fans of the sport.
The Right Time with Bomani Jones
Host: Bomani Jones
Sports: American football, basketball
Any time is the right time to listen to The Right Time with Bomani Jones. In an industry that’s prone to groupthink, Bomani stands out as a rather smart and unique voice.
The show is known for mixing intelligent sports commentary with topics like race, economics, and tech. All this is enhanced by the hilarious storytelling from both his personal life and his audience’s voicemails. The show’s success made ESPN (there’s that name again. Sense a theme?) increase the number of shows from two to three times a week.
Why it’s worth a listen: Listen to the podcast if you’re interested in the intersection of sports and social issues.
All The Smoke
Hosts: Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson
Sport: Basketball
In All The Smoke, hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen bring on athletes and have them talk about their personal lives. Like Dan Katz, the hosts make guests feel comfortable enough to drop their masks and share personal stories they wouldn’t share anywhere else. In fact, among Kobe Bryant's final interviews was one with All The Smoke, where he discussed some of his private conversations with Michael Jordan. Other popular guests in the past include Lil Wayne, Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, and more.
Why it’s worth a listen: The show lives up to its name, with the host and guests having tough and honest conversations. If you want to see your favorite athletes bare it all, listen to this podcast.
30 for 30 podcasts
Host: Jody Avirgan
Sports: All types
30 for 30 is the sports version of the madly popular podcast series, This American Life. Just like the podcast, This American LifeTAL, each episode is like a mini-audio documentary, touching everything from the longstanding rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics to the 2002 college football scandal that took place in Ohio State.
Why it’s worth a listen: Listen to this if you want deep dives into the world of sports and its biggest stories and scandals.
No Dunks
Hosts: J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas, Trey Kerby, Leigh Ellis
Sport: NBA
No Dunks is the show to tune into when you want to hear entertaining and insightful NBA analysis. Hosts J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas, Trey Kerby, and Leigh Ellis are seasoned podcast veterans. They’re also close friends, and listening to them talk about the game is like listening to buddies discuss their favorite sport. Each episode releases from Monday to Friday and is usually an hour long.
Why it’s worth a listen: No Dunks is the perfect blend of light-hearted analysis and serious basketball sports talk that comes to your feed every day.
Men in Blazers
Hosts: Michael Davies and Roger Bennett
Sport: Soccer
Okay soccer fans, this one is for you.
Men in Blazers is hosted by Michael Davies and Roger Bennett, who are a hilarious duo with great chemistry. They also often bring on big names to the show, including Matthew McConaughey, John Oliver, and Kevin Bacon. The podcast episodes revolve around the Premier League, the U.S. national teams, MLS, and more. Also, if the Fifa World Cup interests you, you’ll find a special 5-part series that covers every team as well as a six-part series about the corruption at Qatar Fifa World Cup.
Why it’s worth a listen: If you live in the USA and are interested in local and international soccer analysis, then this is a must-watch.
The Woj Pod
Host: Adrian Wojnarowski
Sport: Basketball
Hosted by Adrian Wojnarowski, The Woj Pod is another fantastic NBA podcast. It features many impressive guests, including superstars, coaches, and journalists. Adrian’s scoops and takes are integral to the NBA, making him an automatic Twitter follow in the business. He accurately forecasts team picks during the NBA draft, and he was credited with breaking Lebron James’ intentions to leave Cleaveland.
Why it’s worth a listen: Woj has deep connections in the NBA, so you’ll get inside scoops of the league before any of your friends. Also, expect real-time breaking news with some of the most popular NBA players and general managers, and coaches.
The Last Wicket
Hosts: Benny, Himanish, Mayank, Nish
Sport: Cricket
The Last Wicket is a great podcast if you enjoy cricket and would love to hear from famous personalities in the sport. The show is hosted by four avid cricket fans who go deep into the topic, complete with intelligent sports analysis and discussions about the history of the sport.
Why it’s worth a listen: The Last Wicket has really interesting discussions on the topic of cricket, so don’t miss out on this one!
The Last Wicket crew record in high-quality on Riverside. You can too! Learn more here or sign up to start recording!
The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani
Host: Ariel Helwani
Sport: MMA
Ariel is one of the most knowledgeable reporters in the MMA industry and knows the biggest names in the sport. Because of this, the podcast is generally considered one of the best in the MMA genre. Helwani offers great fighter analysis and commentary, conducts insightful interviews, and delivers unbiased coverage.
Why it’s worth listen: Tune in to this if you want to see your favorite MMA stars give their raw and unfiltered thoughts about MMA.
Talkin’ Baseball (MLB Podcast)
Host: Jimmy “Jomboy” O’Brien
Sport: Baseball
Talkin’ Baseball is easily our go-to podcast for consuming all things baseball. Most of the show revolves around game analyses of the matches during the season.
Why it’s worth listen: The show is unique in that it discusses a lot of the smaller details about the things that happened over the course of a season. Listen to this every Monday and Friday to keep yourself updated on the latest in MLB games.
Best Sports Podcasts According to Categories
Best sports podcast for beginners
The best sports podcast for beginners is ESPN Daily. It goes in-depth into the day's most interesting sports stories and has the most experienced sports journalists and pundits comment on them.
Best sports interview podcast
The best sports interview podcast is the Bill Simmons podcast. The show’s host, Bill Simmons, brings on the most popular celebrities and sports personalities on his show, including names like Matt Damon, Ethan Hawke, and Barack Obama.
Best sports documentary podcasts
The best sports documentary podcast is 30 for 30 and is the gold standard of modern sports documentaries.
Episodes can be self-contained, like the one that focuses on the first all-women’s North Pole expedition. Others can have multiple parts, like the 5 part series about Bikram Choudhury, the hot-yoga guru accused of manipulating and sexually abusing his followers.
What is the #1 sports podcast?
The #1 podcast, according to both Apple and Spotify charts, is New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. The series has the two American football athletes give insights about their games, share the latest NFL news, and bring on guests that include NFL peers and other celebrities.
Both brothers bring their wealth of experience to the podcast and share unfiltered and knowledgeable football insights from within the trenches.
Create your Own Sports Podcast with Riverside
If this list has inspired you to start your own podcast, then check out Riverside.
It can record up to high-quality 4K, so you'll be able to compete with Spotify and YouTube's highest production-quality podcasts.
It also has a local recording feature that records the podcast on your computer and then uploads it to the cloud. This method (rather than recording directly through the internet) saves your podcast from possible internet fluctuations or drops.
To start recording your podcast using Riverside, check out our detailed guide here.
FAQs on the Best Sports Podcasts
What famous athletes have sports podcasts?
Some of the most popular podcasts are hosted by some of the most famous athletes. These include:
- Former Indianapolis punter Pat McAfee, who hosts the Pat McAfee Show
- NBA veterans Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, who host All the Smoke
- Professional boxer Mike Tyson, who hosts Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson
- NBA veterans JJ Redick and Tommy Alter who host The Old Man and The Three
- NBA’s CJ McCollum who hosts Pull Up with CJ McCollum
What are the top 10 most listened-to podcasts?
The 10 most listened-to podcasts sports podcasts on Spotify are:
- New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce
- Pardon My Take
- The Bill Simmons Podcast
- The Pat McAfee Show 2.0
- After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe
- The MeatEater Podcast
- La última Copa/The Last Cup
- Fantasy Footballers – Fantasy Football Podcast
- The Ryen Russillo Podcast
- Chattin Pony with Paddy The Baddy
The 10 most listened-to sports podcasts on Apple are:
- New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce
- Pardon My Take
- The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
- The Bill Simmons Podcast
- After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe
- Fantasy Footballers – Fantasy Football Podcast
- The Ryen Russillo Podcast
- The Pat McAfee Show 2.0
- The Herd with Colin Cowherd
- Skip and Shannon: Undisputed
Read more: The 14 Best Popular Podcasts to Listen to in 2024 (Spotify & Apple)
Does subscription to the athletic include the podcasts?
Yes, the subscription to the athletic has all Athletics podcasts, including The Athletic Football Show, The Athletic NBA Show, and No Dunks.
How long should a sports podcast be?
Some audiences prefer podcasts of around 15-20 minutes, whereas others prefer more extended and in-depth podcasts of around 45-90 minutes.
Anything within these time frames is perfect for a podcast length. That being said, the average length of a podcast is 36 minutes. The trick is not to reach a point where you are going on a tangent. Everything should have a focus, stay interesting and keep to the point.
What do you need for a sports podcast?
To start a sports podcast, you’ll need the right software and hardware.
In terms of hardware, you’ll need:
- A good quality microphone
- An HD camera (or a 4K capable one if you prefer high-production value podcasts)
- A laptop or PC
- Headphones
In terms of software, you’ll need
We highly recommend using Riverside for your recording software. It records high-quality video in up to 4K, and it has local recording capability (records directly to your computer, then uploads it to the internet) so that internet fluctuations don’t spoil the quality of the podcast.
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