ESPN will host an all-female broadcast Friday night when the Miami Heat head to Boston to face the Celtics.
Beth Mowins will have play-by-play duties with Doris Burke on color commentary as Cassidy Hubarth will take on sideline responsibilities.
Hall of Fame broadcaster Burke made her regular-season debut as ESPN’s top NBA analyst on Wednesday night when the Celtics opened up their season against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Burke now sits alongside Mike Breen and former head coach Doc Rivers as part of ESPN’s regular lead broadcast team for the NBA.
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Burke sits in the ESPN seat this season after earning the gig following Jeff Van Gundy’s departure in late June. Before that it was a 40-year journey to get her in the seat, heading toward one of her career goals — calling the NBA Finals.
Van Gundy advocated for her to land the dream job.
Mowins has an extensive background in the booth and found herself becoming the first woman to call play-by-play on Monday Night Football in 2017 when she teamed up with former head coach Rex Ryan on ESPN.
Hubbarth signed a multi-year extension with ESPN last February after having been with the company since 2010.
“I’m living my dream. I’m covering the NBA,” Hubbarth told the Chicago Sun-Times after the announcement. “That’s what I always wanted to do.”
The first all-female broadcast in NBA history took place in March 2021 on International Women’s Day when TSN’s Toronto Raptors broadcast had Meghan McPeak on play-by-play with Canadian basketball star Kia Nurse as the analyst. TSN anchor and reporter Kayla Grey did sidelines, with Kate Bierness and Amy Audibert hosted and provides studio analysis. The Mowins, Burke, Hubbarth trio also worked International Women’s Day together for ESPN earlier this year.
