After Doc Rivers opted to leave the broadcast booth to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks last month, ESPN/ABC found itself with a void in its NBA Finals coverage.
ESPN, however, didn’t wait long to fill it, with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reporting that JJ Redick will be joining play-by-play man Mike Breen and analyst Doris Burke on the network’s top play-by-play team.
The addition of Redick marks just the latest change to ESPN’s top NBA team over the course of the past year. After firing analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson last summer, the network hired Rivers — who had just been fired by the Philadelphia 76ers — to join Breen and Burke in the booth.
Disney’s new three-person booth would prove short-lived, with Rivers taking the Bucks job in January following the midseason firing of Adrian Griffin (as first reported by CNN Sports). While it was initially reported that ESPN was leaning toward just moving forward with a two-person booth of Breen and Burke, buzz soon began building regarding Redick joining the team.
The 39-year-old Redick has enjoyed a rapid rise in the media since bringing an end to his playing career in 2021. In addition to his popular The Old Man & The Three podcast, the 15-year NBA vet has called games alongside Ryan Ruocco and Richard Jefferson — a trio that ESPN had already telegraphed as its future top NBA broadcast team.
But with Redick already being promoted to the network’s top team, it remains to be seen what will happen with Ruocco and Jefferson on its No. 2 team. It’s possible Ruocco and Jefferson could remain a two-man booth, or ESPN could add another analyst, with Marchand floating former Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers — who is currently a member of the network’s top studio show — as a potential possibility.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.