After calling the NBA Finals without Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy for the first time in 15 years, Mike Breen looked back on their time together in the broadcast booth. In his appearance on Jackson's " Come And Talk 2 Me " podcast, Breen talked about his camaraderie with his former ESPN colleagues.
"We had a friendship, the three of us, before we ever called games together," he said. "So then all of a sudden, not only are you around these people that you love as brothers and you have such respect and admiration (for), and now all of a sudden you're calling the biggest games in basketball with them, year in and year out. For me, it was such an honor."
Breen was puzzled by ESPN's decison
The three have known each other for over 30 years, dating back to Breen 's time as the New York Knicks' radio voice in the 1990s. At that time, Van Gundy was the team's assistant coach, while Jackson was their starting point guard.
What was unique about JVG, Mark, and Mike was that they all brought a certain flavor to broadcasting, which was why their audience often applauded them for their wit, humor, intellect, charisma, and ability to make the product more exciting than it is. So when ESPN suddenly announced that they would break this trio apart in 2023, it was the end of an era.
"It's sad because we really thought we had something special and … we were able to do it a lot longer than anybody ever did," Breen told The Post last August. "It's something we'll all treasure, but we just wish it was a little bit longer."
Where are they now?
While Breen continues to call games from the booth, Van Gundy went on to accept a consultant role with the Boston Celtics last season and just got promoted by the Los Angeles Clippers to be Ty Lue's main assistant coach. As for Jackson, who coached the Golden State Warriors from 2011 to 2014, he's now focused on his podcast.
ESPN has mixed their rotation of broadcasters over the past year as two of their analysts had to leave their jobs. The network first announced that Dorris Burke and Doc Rivers were going to take Van Gundy and Jackson's place, but that lasted halfway through the season, as Rivers ended up being the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
ESPN had to find a substitute quickly for Rivers and decided to go with JJ Redick . However, after the Los Angeles Lakers hired him as their new head coach, they will now have to think of a replacement for the retired sharpshooter.
Related: "They sh*t on him" – Stan Van Gundy blasts ESPN for firing his brother Jeff from the network after 17 years
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