Doc Rivers may still see himself back at the sidelines, but not as a head coach.
According to Chad Finn of The Boston Globe, plenty of talks suggest that Rivers and Doris Burke may join Mike Breen on ESPN’s top broadcast team for the upcoming 2023-24 NBA season, though he clarified that nothing is imminent for now.
Rivers remains unemployed after the Philadelphia 76ers decided to cut their ties with him after three seasons of partnership following the club’s seven-game meltdown against the Boston Celtics in the Conference Semifinals this previous fall. Amid consistent regular season success in those three years, Rivers failed to lead Philly in the East Finals — a stage that the franchise has yet to seize since the 2000-01 season.
In a cost-cutting move, ESPN notably released Jeff Van Gundy who served as a long-time analyst besides Breen.
Rivers got significant experience of calling NBA games as he joined the network as part of the “NBA on ABC ” coverage last 2003-04 season. He also managed to get paired with play-by-play commentator Al Michaels during the coverage of the 2004 Finals before joining the Celtics as their newest coach a year after.
Burke started working for ESPN in 1991. Known for breaking broadcast barriers for women, she held multiple positions for the network and now currently serves as an analyst for NBA games.
