In recent months, ESPN has made some cost-cutting moves by firing a number of broadcasters, including some of its most prominent commentators for its NBA coverage.
Among such commentators it has fired are Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, both of whom teamed up with play-by-play man Mike Breen for its lead team, which would do the marquee games of the week and the NBA Finals.
Breen has admitted that the firings are “sad,” according to the New York Post (via NBACentral).
Mike Breen admits that losing his "dream partners" has left him stunned
“It’s sad because we really thought we had something special and that’s going to be the thought going forward is that we were able to do it a lot longer than anybody ever did. It’s something we’ll all… pic.twitter.com/RsMF17Dzo8
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 1, 2023
Jackson and Van Gundy have called games alongside Breen for many years, and the three-man crew was entertaining to listen to, as Van Gundy would often share zany takes and suggest outlandish rule changes.
But now, Breen will reportedly be teamed up with Doris Burke, a former college basketball player who has been in broadcasting for decades and has been calling NBA games for ESPN for many years, as well as Doc Rivers.
Jackson is a former NBA player who is one of the league’s all-time leaders in assists, and he went on to coach the Golden State Warriors from 2011 to 2014, just before they became a dynastic squad.
Van Gundy is also a former coach who led the undermanned New York Knicks to the championship series in 1999, and he later had a stint with the Houston Rockets.
Perhaps Jackson’s firing will lead to speculation that he may soon return to the coaching ranks.
He was reportedly in consideration for the head coaching job of the Los Angeles Lakers last year before they went ahead and hired Darvin Ham.
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