ESPN plans to begin the new NBA season without a permanent third member of its lead NBA broadcast team.
Mike Breen and Doris Burke are returning as ESPN/ABC’s lead NBA team this season, but the network has yet to make a decision regarding the addition of a third member of the broadcast team. The pair was joined last season by Doc Rivers until he left at midseason to coach the Milwaukee Bucks, and then by J.J. Redick until he left at season’s end to coach the Lakers.
Breen and Burke will be joined by a rotation of additional analysts this season. As the lead NBA team does not typically begin working together regularly until ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime package begins in January, the sense is that there is time to make a decision.
Previous reporting indicated that ESPN was looking at TNT NBA analyst Grant Hill as a potential addition to the team, as well as in-house options such as Jay Bilas, Tim Legler and Richard Jefferson. Both Bilas and Legler have been added to ESPN’s NBA commentary roster this season, a first for both longtime analysts.
Bilas, who worked a preseason game Sunday night, has never before held a regular role on ESPN NBA game coverage, though he was an analyst on the NBA Draft for many years. Legler has been an ESPN NBA analyst since before the network acquired rights — working shows like “NBA 2Night” and “NBA Matchup” — but has rarely called games during his tenure.
Other changes include the addition of play-by-play voice Michael Grady — who worked a preseason game on Sunday and a pair of WNBA playoff games — and the elevation of college basketball and Summer League analyst Cory Alexander to a regular season role.
There are no other meaningful changes to ESPN’s NBA roster this season. ESPN in the offseason underwent a reorganization that shifted NBA responsibilities away from executive David Roberts, with no permanent replacement yet named.
