Could Richard Jefferson join Mike Breen, Doris Burke on ESPN’s lead NBA broadcasting team?

Could Richard Jefferson join Mike Breen, Doris Burke on ESPN’s lead NBA broadcasting team?

It was a quick ascent for former 15-year NBA veteran JJ Redick .

After retirement, Redick launched “The Old Man & The Three” podcast with Tommy Alter, one of the more recognized basketball podcasts in the space. He also joined ESPN as a lead analyst in 2021, where he got experience in studio and in the booth as a color commentator.

Redick eventually joined a member of the NBA Finals as part of ESPN’s lead broadcast with Mike Breen in Doris Burke in February, while launching an inciteful “Mind The Game” basketball podcast with LeBron James in March. Now, he’s the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers!

Typically, the NBA Finals crew–ESPN’s A-Team of NBA broadcasts–has been in trios. While the replacement of Redick was likely never going to be picked right away, there reportedly is a leading in-house favorite to replace Redick: Former 17-year veteran Richard Jefferson .

“According to a source, Richard Jefferson is a top internal candidate to replace new Lakers coach JJ Redick on ABC’s lead announcing team, alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke,” Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote earlier this week . “ESPN doesn’t want to rush the decision and also plans to consider Tim Legler and lead college basketball analyst Jay Bilas , who will both work a package of NBA games. Legler has primarily worked in the studio during his time at ESPN but has expressed an interest in doing more games.”

This comes over a month after Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that Grant Hill , Jefferson, Legler and Bilas were all in consideration for joining Breen and Burke. Though Hill is the only one with a different employer (Turner Sports; TNT), working on the lead Final Four crew alongside Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery .

Jefferson, 44, joined ESPN in 2019 as a regular analyst and broadcaster, where he’s been one of ESPN’s top color commentators alongside highly-regarded play-by-play voice Ryan Ruocco. He would be a viable choice to replace Redick, who replaced Doc Rivers.

Legler, 57, has been one of ESPN’s top Summer League broadcasters and is another voice that ESPN needs to showcase more. He’s one of the few basketball analysts who can consistently break down the X’s and O’s fluidly on TV–especially after ESPN wrongfully fired Zach Lowe.

Bilas is an excellent college basketball mind and has shown to be well-versed in the NBA circle–perhaps he’s thrown in a Kirk Herbstreit role where he’s broadcasting an NBA game or two per week while being a lead voice for the network’s College Basketball coverage.

I’d lean toward Jefferson, but the other three–plus Hill–are good options as well. Who do you think should be apart of ESPN’s lead broadcasting gig? Let us know in the comments!

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