For many years, fans of the NBA could expect to hear Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy call the NBA Finals for ABC/ESPN. That all changed when it was announced after the 2023 NBA Finals that Jackson and Van Gundy were fired by ESPN in one of their handful of recent mass layoffs that the company has made for cost-cutting measures.
Taking the place of the two longtime announcers and former head coaches were Doris Burke and JJ Redick. The two teamed up with Mike Breen to call the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. It was known that the same announcing team would not be around for the following season once Redick accepted the head coaching job with the Los Angeles Lakers.
A list of four candidates has emerged to take Redick’s spot in the broadcast booth for ABC/ESPN.
Candidates To Replace Redick On NBA Finals Broadcast Revealed
Will Any Of These Four Take Redick’s Place?
Andrew Marchand currently works for The Athletic, and is their senior writer covering sports media. On Friday, he listed four names that are reportedly the top candidates to replace Redick. Marchand wrote,
Grant Hill, Richard Jefferson, Tim Legler and Jay Bilas are atop ABC/ESPN’s list to join Mike Breen and Doris Burke as part of its top broadcast crew for the NBA Finals, sources briefed on the network’s plans said Friday.
While ESPN could choose to stay with a two-person booth of Breen and Burke, ideally they would like to create a three-person setup for the long run.
Marchand later wrote that ESPN declined to comment on the report.
Long Careers In Basketball For All Four Men
Legler and Bilas have been with ESPN for a lengthy amount of time. The 57-year-old Legler played 10 seasons in the NBA before joining ESPN in 2000. He won the Three-Point Contest back in 1996 at All-Star Weekend.
While the 60-year-old Bilas never played in the NBA, he did play under famed Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1986-89. He became an assistant coach under the legendary head coach from 1989-92. Bilas joined ESPN in 1995 and has served as a college basketball analyst and color commentator. He has worked during the NBA Draft but has little experience calling NBA games.
The 44-year-old Jefferson saw his 17-year playing career end after the 2017-18 season. He was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers championship team in 2016. Once he retired, Jefferson joined YES Netwotk as a studio analyst for the Brooklyn Nets. Soon after that, he joined ESPN in 2019, and he has remained with them since.
The 51-year-old Hill played 18 seasons in the NBA from 1994-95 to 2012-13. He was once one of the league’s most exciting players as a member of the Detroit Pistons. The seven-time All-Star was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. Hill is the one outsider of the four, as he hasn’t worked for ESPN. He has been with CBS calling the NCAA men’s basketball tournament alongside Jim Nantz and Bill Raftery. Hill is the managing director for the USA Men’s National Team, a team that won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
