The 2024 NBA Finals suddenly appear on the brink of being over after the Boston Celtics took a 3-0 series lead against the Dallas Mavericks with a 106-99 victory in Game 3 on Thursday night.
While the first sweep in an NBA Finals since 2018 would be an anti-climatic end to the season, the 2024 NBA Finals will go down in history as the first with a woman on the call, as ESPN’s Doris Burke has been for the whole series.
On Thursday, Good Morning America, Burke addressed the historic accomplishment and discussed a lesson she learned from GMA host Robin Roberts years ago.
Thursday, Doris Burke (@heydb) joined @RobinRoberts on @GMA to discuss her history-making role calling the #NBAFinals, career lessons & the advice Robin shared with her early on pic.twitter.com/U85idYBsSz
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 13, 2024
“I have to tell you, Robin. I remember working with you over 20 years ago, and you were such a model for me in how you handled yourself with grace and professionalism and how you treated the people around you. I’ve been really fortunate in my career to operate in the point in history in which I do. I had women who paved the way like you and Jackie MacMullan. I’m just so happy that we function in an era where all these talented women are getting an opportunity to pursue their passion,” Burke said.
Burke then shared the lesson Roberts taught her years ago when asked if she had any advice for young girls watching the broadcast.
“I don’t know if you remember saying this to me, but I was a young announcer, and I asked you, ‘What’s the key here?’ And you said. ‘You need to do two things. You need to be as prepared as possible, and you need to be as professional as possible.’ Those are two pieces of advice you gave me years ago that I’ve tried to live by every single day.”
[ESPN PR]
