Niesha Butler
Niesha Butler is a basketball player and actress, often featured in films related to sport. She currently is a sideline reporter for various outfits including CBS Radio, MSG Network, and CUNY TV.
Early sports career
She was the all time leader for New York high schools in career points scored—for men or women—in basketball. Scored 3,127 points in High School, with a 28 points per game average. She wears the number 11.
She was personally recruited for Georgia Tech by Stephon Marbury.
Acting career
She starred opposite Adrian Grenier in Noah Buschel's Bringing Rain. She had a brief appearance in Spike Lee's 2004 film She Hate Me. She was also considered as the lead role Love and Basketball, opposite Omar Epps, but was ultimately turned over for actress Sanaa Lathan despite producer Spike Lee's advice. According to writer & director Gina Prince-Bythewood " I saw over 700 people for the part–actors, ballplayers, people who had never acted before in their life. It finally came down to Sanaa and Niesha I put Sanaa with a basketball coach for two months and Niesha with an acting coach.” Prince-Bythewood ultimately decided that it was a love story first—which is why she ultimately went with Lathan [1]
She also appeared in the first Nike-LeBron James commercial.
In magazines
She was on the cover of the first annual The Village Voice's Women In Sports. She also posed for King Magazine, Mar/Apr 2004 - Article title: 'WNBA's Next Sexy Shooter.'
Broadcasting
Butler serves as a basketball broadcaster for several NYC area sports networks.