ESPN is making a big change to it's NBA broadcasting teams.
ESPN announced on Thursday that it is demoting Doris Burke from its top NBA broadcasting team in favor of veteran analyst Tim Legler, news that was first reported by The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. Burke, who has been with ESPN since the 1990s, is reportedly working on a contract extension with the network to remain a part of its basketball coverage.
ESPN's decision to demote Burke has been rumored since the NBA Finals ended, but that doesn't mean that Burke won't be a big part of the network moving forward. Here's a breakdown of ESPN's decision.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Why is Tim Legler replacing Doris Burke at ESPN?
This move is the latest in ESPN's shakeup of its NBA broadcasting teams as the network looks for a permanent structure. Since 2023, when ESPN let go of Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, several broadcasters have worked alongside Mike Breen in search of a permanent booth, including Doris Burke, Doc Rivers, J.J. Redick and Richard Jefferson.
Tim Legler will join Breen and Jefferson on ESPN's No. 1 NBA team, which will call the NBA Finals at the end of the season. Burke, meanwhile, officially signed a contract extension with ESPN, as the network announced she will primarily call games with Dave Pasch.
MORE: What to know about ESPN's media deal with NFL
Doris Burke broadcasting career
Burke has been with ESPN since the early 1990s and has worked in a variety of different roles covering the NBA, the WNBA and college basketball.
In that span, Burke has also made history in many areas as a woman in a male-dominated industry. Burke was the first woman analyst to call any of the traditional four major American sports. She was also the first woman analyst to cover both the NBA Finals and NBA Conference Finals, making history on both radio an on television.
Tim Legler broadcasting career
Legler, a former NBA shooting guard, has been with ESPN since 2000 as a basketball analyst. He has called games and provided studio analysis, appearing on the network’s various talking-head shows and co-hosting the “All-NBA” podcast.
This will be Legler’s first time working on ESPN’s No. 1 broadcasting team, as he has primarily been featured on the network’s third and fourth teams. He has also been a fan-favorite analyst as ESPN has rotated former players and coaches in and out of its coverage.