Doris Burke doesn’t seem to be especially bothered by the strong negative opinions that many viewers have of her.
The longtime ESPN analyst Burke appeared this week on “06010 The ESPN Communications Podcast.” During the appearance, Burke spoke out about the criticisms she has faced, particularly when she recently called Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a “free throw merchant” during the Western Conference Finals.
Burke said that Thunder fans were upset about her commentary but noted that she believes having fanbases who are mad at her simply means that she is doing her job well.
“Oklahoma City fans took exception to that,” said Burke of her jab at Gilgeous-Alexander, per Awful Announcing. “They didn’t like it. And usually, I can tell I feel like I’m doing a decent job when multiple fan bases are p—ed off at me… At various times, Boston fans think I hate them, Knicks fans think I hate them, Sixers fans, and now Oklahoma City [fans are] like, ‘Why doesn’t Doris like SGA?’ [But] I love SGA. Absolutely love him.”
You can watch Burke’s full interview here.
Burke, who has been an analyst for ESPN since 1991 and a regular NBA game analyst for the network since 2017, did indeed rile up fans by referring to Gilgeous-Alexander as a “free throw merchant” multiple times in the WCF (which is a negative reference to Gilgeous-Alexander’s tendency to draw fouls). While it is all but inevitable that a national TV analyst will tick off at least some fans with their commentary (especially in the heat of playoff action), Burke seems to view the negative feedback towards her as a good thing.
The Basketball Hall of Famer Burke is in her second full season as a member of ESPN’s No. 1 NBA commentary team (where she currently calls games alongside Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson). But many fans still have yet to warm up to Burke, and now it sounds like ESPN could potentially remove her from the No. 1 team after the season (at least according to a new report).
