Doris Burke, Doc Rivers to join ESPN, ABC to broadcast 2023/2024 NBA

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ESPN announced Monday that Doris Burke and Doc Rivers would join Mike Breen on the top NBA broadcast crew for ESPN and ABC.

Burke, known for her previous sideline reporting work on ABC’s finals coverage from 2009 to 2019, has a new role as a game analyst. This makes her the first woman to hold such a position in one of the four major U.S. sports.

Rivers, who was recently fired as a coach by the Philadelphia 76ers in May, has also been involved in game broadcasts. He called the games during the 2003/2004 season on ESPN and the 2004 Finals on ABC.

“People will say, ‘Well, this is a trailblazing move.’ You’re absolutely right. But the only way that any trailblazer is successful, whether it’s an African American or a woman or anyone it’s based on the results and their performance,” said David Roberts, ESPN’s head of studio and event production.

Roberts added that Burke’s achievements and performance are unparalleled and unmatched within this field.

Roberts described the relationship between Burke and Rivers as close friends with “mutual respect” for each other. He also emphasized that Rivers would bring insights to the role, considering he had done a coaching job before.

“But more importantly, he has the type of insight that’s necessary as we talked about the relevancy and currency, the NBA going into the next season and beyond,” Roberts added.

Burke and Rivers will be taking over from Jeff van Gundy and Mark Jackson. Previously, Breen, van Gundy and Jackson called the 2015 NBA finals together.

Furthermore, ESPN has announced that Bob Myers, former Golden State Warriors general manager and president of basketball operations, will join their NBA broadcast team. Recognized with two NBA Executive of the Year awards, Myers will assume the role of a studio analyst and provide commentary for certain games.