The sports community learned Jeff Van Gundy will no longer be featured on ESPN’s NBA broadcasts after cutbacks were announced in June. The shocking news left many unanswered questions, including who would take the former coach’s role on the lead broadcast team.
We’re now closer to getting those answers thanks to Andrew Marchand’s latest from the New York Post. According to Marchand, ESPN is nearing an agreement to bump Doris Burke up to the lead broadcast team, where she’d be paired with newcomer Doc Rivers and Hall-of-Fame play-by-play legend Mike Breen.
If so, Burke would make history as the first woman TV analyst to cover the NBA Finals, yet the final terms are not quite finalized.
This scenario has left Mark Jackson without a home. There was a possibility the former coach would either relegated to the network’s ‘B’ team broadcasting crew or, as the article states, possibly off the job altogether. Jackson had been given the option to join Mark Jones on ESPN’s second team, but we’ve since learned of his intent to move on to another job. It remains to be seen where Jackson lands next.
Rivers previously worked with Al Michaels during the 2004 NBA Finals, so this territory would not be uncharted for the recent Philadelphia 76ers head coach. He also worked with ABC/ESPN during the 2004 season before becoming the Boston Celtics’ coach.
ESPN is hoping to have a trio of Doris Burke, Doc Rivers, and Mike Breen, forming a legendary troupe.
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