ABC/ESPN has demoted Hall of Fame broadcaster Doris Burke from its NBA Finals team and promoted network commentator Tim Legler to its No. 1 team, sources briefed on the decision told The Athletic on Thursday.
Legler will pair with longtime lead play-by-player Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson for the network’s finals broadcasts. Jefferson recently agreed to a new contract with ESPN after working his first finals in June. Burke was on the finals team for two years, becoming the first woman in history to serve as an analyst for one of the traditional four major North American sports leagues championships (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL).
ESPN declined to comment.
ESPN is discussing a contract extension with Burke, whose current contract is set to expire after the upcoming season. She could likely end up on ESPN’s No. 2 broadcast team.
In June, after The Athletic reported that Burke’s spot on the No. 1 team might be in jeopardy, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle took time before his news conference ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals to support Burke. Jefferson attended the College Softball World Series in a Burke T-shirt during a day off from the finals in Oklahoma City. The shirt said, “My Favorite Broadcaster is Doris Burke.”
Neither Carlisle nor Jefferson swayed ESPN’s decision-makers. While ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro or president Burke Magnus could have vetoed the move, it was ultimately decided by executive vice president Mike McQuade, who oversees all of ESPN’s event production.
Legler has been a favorite of McQuade’s, including when Legler’s ESPN career had a renaissance over the last decade with regular appearances on Scott Van Pelt’s late-night SportsCenter. McQuade was the lead producer on Van Pelt’s show.
Legler has been at ESPN for 25 years, but he didn’t start regularly calling games until two seasons ago. Legler played for six teams in his 10-year NBA career, averaging 7.0 points per game and shooting 43.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
ESPN’s finals crew has been in flux for years since it fired Breen’s longtime analysts, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, in the summer of 2023. ESPN had company-wide layoffs, and part of the network’s reasoning for singling out Van Gundy and Jackson was because of their perceived continued desire to coach, according to sources briefed on the move. The NBA was not a fan of Van Gundy criticizing officials, according to those sources.
Soon after the firings, ESPN promoted Burke to the top chair and paired her with Doc Rivers. Rivers only stayed on the job for a few months before returning to coach the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2023-24 season. ESPN chose to promote JJ Redick to the Rivers spot instead of Jefferson.
Redick left after the 2024 NBA Finals to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.
(Photo: Kyle Terada / Imagn Images)
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