Mark Jackson era is over: ESPN lays off commentator

766 days ago

Mark Jackson was fired by ESPN and Doris Burke and Doc Rivers were chosen as replacements, according to AP source.

Add Mark Jackson to the list of ESPN reporters and commentators who have been fired in the past five weeks.

Jackson was let go Monday with two years remaining on his contract, as was Jeff Van Gundy also fired in late June. So ESPN is expected to replace them with Doris Burke and Doc Rivers, according to what two people close to the matter told The Associated Press.

They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they are not at liberty to publicly discuss personnel changes.
Burke and Rivers would join Mike Breen on ESPN and ABC’s flagship NBA broadcast team.
At first, Burke would be the first woman to serve as a game analyst for the NBA Finals on television. She has narrated the playoffs on ESPN Radio since 2020 and has been an analyst on ESPN’s NBA games since 2017.
Rivers, on the other hand, who was fired as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in May, covered games on ESPN during the 2003-04 season.

Jackson first joined ESPN in 2006, before leaving in 2011 to take over as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. He returned to the network in May 2014 after being fired by the Warriors.

Van Gundy had been the broadcaster’s lead NBA analyst since 2007 and recently refereed a record 17 NBA Finals. Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson have refereed 15 finals together.