Doris Burke and JJ Redick will serve as broadcast analysts for the NBA Finals on ABC alongside veteran play-by-play Mike Breen and reporter Lisa Salters.
The Finals begin Thursday, June 6, on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Burke and Redick both will call their first NBA Finals on television. She has been an analyst for ESPN Radio’s NBA Finals coverage since 2020, and a sideline reporter for ABCs Finals coverage for nine years.
Burke, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame commentator becomes the first woman to serve as a television game analyst for any major men’s professional sports championship event.
Malika Andrews (NBA Countdown host), Monica McNutt (analyst, Hoop Streams, NBA Digital pregame show), and Chiney Ogwumike (NBA Today, NBA Countdown) join Salters as the other Black females who will be regularly featured throughout the Finals pre-, during and postgame coverage on ESPN/ABC.
During Monday’s ESPN NBA Finals media conference call, the MSR asked Burke if she had taken time to reflect on her historic feat and work with Black female broadcasters.
“I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I am sort of mindful that there is something meaningful here, right,” responded Burke. “This assignment makes life for women in sports easier or somehow aids in their process, then nothing could be more meaningful.
“Speaking, in particular, of people of color,” continued Burke, “I can’t help but think of Candace Parker, who in her work for TNT, to me, is just so brilliant in terms of her presence. She’s so telegenic. She’s so knowledgeable. I feel like there isn’t a space she couldn’t conquer.
“Our own Lisa Salters, who is an Emmy-award-winning journalist. Diversity representation is always important,” stated Burke.
When another reporter asked Burke about other female announcers who may have helped her and paved the way for her, “My mind immediately goes to one of my earliest partners covering women’s basketball, and that would be the great Robin Roberts,” she admitted. “Who better to follow her example in terms of not only competence on the air but also the level of professionalism, how she treated people, and the person she was?
“I feel very fortunate to be operating at the point in history within which I’m operating,” continued Burke. “Meaning that the experience of my predecessors was probably in some ways much more difficult than my own.”
“When this game has been the topic, gender has gone out the window,” concluded Burke. “These people have put their arms around me and made me feel welcome, and so for that, I am incredibly appreciative.”