ESPN has been trying to find the right formula for its top NBA broadcasting team since letting Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson go after the 2022-23 season. They may not be done making changes two years later.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic wrote Wednesday that there is no guarantee that Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson will be back on ESPN’s No. 1 broadcast team next season. ESPN does plan to re-sign Jefferson, but his contract is up and he has received some interest from Amazon Prime.
Burke is a more uncertain proposition. Some at the network feel she is better as part of a two-person broadcast, and that she has not meshed perfectly with play-by-play announcer Mike Breen. Breen is viewed as the only certainty to be back.
Longtime NBA analyst Tim Legler could be one name to watch if ESPN does make a change.
ESPN’s decision to dump Jackson and Van Gundy looks worse by the day. Along with Breen, the trio were popular among fans and had established chemistry that the network has struggled to replicate since. Breen himself was not even happy with the move.
ESPN has tried Doc Rivers and JJ Redick with Breen and Burke, though both left the role to go back into coaching. Jefferson has been fine, but there is still a sense that something is missing. The network seems to agree.
