Tim Legler Joins ESPN’s NBA Finals Booth With Breen, Jefferson
tim legler is now in ’s top NBA booth, replacing Doris Burke and joining Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson for the NBA Finals. The trio will work its first Finals together, a change that puts a new voice into the network’s highest-profile basketball telecast.
Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson
Breen, Jefferson and Legler are calling the NBA Finals together for the first time, and the opener comes after moved Burke out of the top booth. The shift changes the sound of the broadcast at the sport’s biggest stage, where the network has been trying to settle on a group it can trust for years to come.
The new three-person group arrives with a notable wrinkle: Breen, Jefferson and Legler had a total of zero NBA All-Star appearances in their playing careers. That is part of the scrutiny around the booth, since -produced finals on ABC have lacked the big-game feel for a while.
Doris Burke and Rick Carlisle
Burke’s removal had been hanging over the broadcast for some time. A year ago, one of the head coaches in the NBA Finals addressed the potential status of ’s top booth at his opening news conference, and last year The Athletic reported that the Breen-Burke-Jefferson team could be doing its last Finals together.
Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle publicly defended Burke after those reports leaked. “It was so sad to see these reports leaked really unnecessarily before such a celebrated event,” he said. “Doris is a great example of putting herself out there.” Carlisle also said Burke earned her spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is an inspiration.
Steve Kerr and
Steve Kerr had been a leading possibility for one of the top seats until he reaffirmed his commitment to coach and signed a new two-year deal with the Warriors. That left to move in another direction, and Legler became the choice for the top booth alongside Breen and Jefferson.
The network now needs the new group to settle quickly. Breen, Jefferson and Legler are very likely to return next season, but the first test is the Finals itself, where the trio of Breen, Jefferson and Legler will try to make the booth feel established from the start.
