The ESPN NBA booth of Mike Breen, Doris Burke, and Richard Jefferson might be a one-year experiment.
According to a new report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, the Worldwide Leader is already considering making changes to its top basketball broadcast team following the upcoming NBA Finals. Per Marchand, Burke isn’t guaranteed to return in the same capacity next season, as the network will “evaluate its entire roster.”
How that will affect the other two members of ESPN’s top NBA booth remains unclear, but Marchand also reports that the Disney-owned company intends to re-sign Jefferson, a pending free agent who has reportedly drawn interest from Amazon. Meanwhile, Breen remains signed to a long-term contract and isn’t expected to go anywhere.
While Breen, the Hall of Famer under a long-term deal, is not going anywhere, ESPN will evaluate its entire roster.
The network intends on re-signing Jefferson, but Burke’s spot is not guaranteed for next season, sources tell @AndrewMarchand ⤵️https://t.co/wfQTlf4k8G
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 4, 2025
News of a potential shakeup comes on the eve of the trio’s first NBA Finals together, which marks the third time in as many years ESPN has had a different broadcast booth for the league’s championship round. After laying off analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson in 2023, the network teamed Breen and Burke with Doc Rivers, who left midway through his first season to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. ESPN then replaced Rivers with JJ Redick, with Jefferson ultimately filling the spot vacated by the now-Lakers coach.
The current trio of Breen, Burke and Jefferson hasn’t exactly earned rave reviews through their first playoffs together, as the two analysts have each struggled.
Burke, in particular, had some strange moments in the Western Conference Finals, including invoking France-Germany and the two World Wars in a bizarre history lesson and later labeled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a “free-throw merchant.” To say her commentary on that series confounded viewers would be a fair assessment. Jefferson, meanwhile, stumbled through a segment on Jalen Williams, had a bizarre hot mic moment, and generally looked like someone still trying to get comfortable in a seat that might not be his for long.
This was supposed to be a bold reset for ESPN’s top NBA team. Instead, it’s starting to feel like a transitional year with a Finals crew that hasn’t clicked. Breen can carry a broadcast, but chemistry matters, and if ESPN doesn’t see it forming, change is coming.
