A former National Basketball Association (NBA) player has risen in the ranks to be the successor to former coach Jeff Van Gundy as an analyst for ESPN's league broadcast.
Front Office Sports' Michael McCarthy reported that JJ Redick “has zoomed to the top of the contenders’ list to join ESPN’s top NBA game broadcast team.” The 39-year-old former shooting guard quickly joined ESPN following his retirement in 2021 and was seen on various shows, including First Take and some NBA coverage.
Previous reports indicated that fellow NBA legends Richard Jefferson and Doc Rivers were in line as well to join ESPN's lead NBA team of Mike Breen and Mark Jackson, as well as longtime ESPN courtside reporter Doris Burke. However, McCarthy pointed out in his report that there could also be a possibility that ESPN would go back to doing two-man panels, and just stick with the Breen – Jackson tandem for top NBA games.
As ESPN's main broadcast panel, Breen, Jackson, and Van Gundy had called the plays in highly-anticipated games, including the NBA Finals on ABC for a long time already. However, a personnel shakeup saw Van Gundy among those surprisingly laid off by ESPN recently.
Burke obviously has the most experience of these possible candidates since she was the Breen – Jackson – Van Gundy courtside reporter before she was elevated to analyst and other anchor roles. Rivers, on the other hand, did the call for the 2004 NBA Finals with Al Michaels back when the ABC's broadcast was independent from that of ESPN.
And then there's Redick and Jefferson, whose recency in playing their last NBA games could give Breen and Jackson more ideas about how today's game is being played. While nothing is set in stone, it seems like Redick is leading the pack currently.
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