No stranger to being a trailblazer in the sports media industry, Doris Burke will become the first woman to work as a game analyst during the NBA Finals after ESPN announced she’s joining their radio coverage.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame broadcaster will work alongside play-by-play voice Marc Kestecher and analyst Jon Barry during both Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.
“Doris is a trailblazer who continues to reimagine what is possible for women in broadcasting,” Stephanie Druley, ESPN’s executive vice president of event and studio production said according to The Associated Press. “We know she’ll thrive in this history-making radio analyst role.
Since 2009, Burke has contributed as the sideline reporter for ESPN’s top NBA broadcast team which features Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. Replacing Burke on the NBA Finals and Conference Finals telecasts will be ESPN host and journalist Rachel Nichols.
The first woman to receive the Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Basketball Hall of Fame, Burke has been with ESPN for nearly three decades, covering both NCAA and NBA games. In 2017, she became the first woman to be named a full-time game analyst and is regularly heralded as one of the sport’s best commentators.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
