Calling the debut game for the new-look Milwaukee Bucks led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and the newly acquired Damian Lillard, ESPN color commentator Doris Burke revealed she once recorded a guest spot on a track by Lillard, who is an accomplished rapper in addition to an All-NBA point guard.
Burke let out her secret shortly after Lillard mentioned potentially bringing Antetokounmpo onto a song soon in an interview with ESPN pregame.
“Did you know I once got cut from a Damian Lillard track, I kid you not,” Burke explained. “I didn’t make it (onto the final cut), not a surprise.”
After Damian Lillard brought up a Giannis guest verse during a pregame interview on ESPN, Doris Burke dropped the news of the night: pic.twitter.com/WZpraT7Slb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 16, 2023
Burke was recently named to the top NBA broadcast team at ESPN after the offseason layoffs of Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. She will become the first woman to call an NBA Finals on television next summer.
Lillard was traded to Milwaukee this summer after a months-long negotiation saga.
While both are in new situations this fall, they apparently once came together for some music-making.
Burke owes it to all of us to explain herself further on the next broadcast. Was this a rap verse? Spoken word? Was it typical basketball analysis cut into a hip-hop track?
Admittedly it’s hard to find a version of the recording that would not be pretty odd. Seeing a (feat. Doris Burke) tacked onto a Lillard record would have been a trip, but all things considered, he probably made the best move artistically.
For any podcasters out there who book Burke this season, it’s on you to get more details.
