With Doc Rivers officially off to Milwaukee, ESPN may be pivoting from a trio to a duo.
Margaret Fleming of Front Office Sports reported Wednesday on ESPN’s plans for replacing Rivers now that Rivers has agreed to take the Milwaukee Bucks head coach job. Fleming says ESPN will likely move to a two-person lineup of Mike Breen and Doris Burke to anchor their top NBA broadcast team (noting that many at the network feel Burke has earned the right to serve as the sole color analyst on the team). However, the network is also considering having either JJ Redick or Richard Jefferson, the two former NBA players, take Rivers’ spot, Fleming adds.
NBA fans had gotten accustomed over the previous decade-plus to having the Breen-Jeff Van Gundy-Mark Jackson trio anchor ESPN’s lead broadcast team. But both Van Gundy and Jackson were let go over the summer, and the network eventually tabbed Rivers and Burke to replace them. Rivers ultimately lasted just three months in the booth before scoring a new coaching job, forcing ESPN to now move to a backup plan.
It sounds like an increased role for Burke, the former sideline reporter who has served as an NBA game analyst for ESPN since 2017, is the most likely outcome. She has already produced some great viral moments in the booth and may continue to grow into her role from here.
