ROTATION

ESPN Makes Changes to Its Lead NBA Analyst Line-Up: Report

Mark Jackson was laid off a month after his longtime broadcast partner, Jeff Van Gurdy, was let go, while Doris Burke and Doc Rivers have reportedly been tapped to fill in.

ESPN is making changes to its A-team covering its NBA broadcasts, starting with the ousting of veteran analyst Mark Jackson, according to multiple reports on Monday. The New York Post first reported Jackson’s firing, which comes just over a month after his longtime on-air partner, Jeff Van Gurdy, was laid off. There were two years remaining on Jackson’s contract. The network is expected to replace the pair with Doris Burke and Doc Rivers. Burke, who has covered basketball for ESPN since 1991, would become the first woman to call NBA Finals games on network television if promoted. Rivers spent time commentating for NBA on ABC, and has spent the past 24 seasons as a head coach for the league. Most recently working with the Philadelphia 76ers, he was fired by the team during the offseason. Neither deal is finalized, according to the Post, but both “are quickly moving in that direction.” Both Burke and Rivers would join play-by-play announcer Mike Breen.