ESPN has confirmed that Richard Jefferson will join its NBA Finals broadcast team.
The network has experienced a lot of upheaval in its NBA product over recent seasons.
At the end of the 2023 Finals, stalwarts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were fired from their roles.
ESPN subsequently unveiled a new top team featuring Doris Burke and Doc Rivers alongside main announcer Mike Breen, with Lisa Salters as sideline reporter.
Rivers, 63, left the position in January 2024 in order to replace Adrian Griffin as head coach of he Milwaukee Bucks.
Following Rivers’ departure, ESPN promoted JJ Redick into its top team.
A long-time podcaster even as a player, Redick began calling games for ESPN in 2021, while also appearing on First Take.
Prior to being promoted, the former three-point sharpshooter had been part of ESPN’s secondary broadcast team alongside Ryan Ruocco and Jefferson.
Redick, 40, announced a hiatus from his media career after accepting the head coach job of the Los Angeles Lakers.
So far this season, ESPN has rotated its third member alongside Breen and Burke.
Jefferson, 44, has frequently appeared in the position.
But Tim Legler and Jay Bilas have both also been tried out.
Despite his promotion, Jefferson’s ESPN future is up in the air.
The former NBA champion’s contract with the network is set to expire at the end of the season.
Amazon Prime Video are said to have shown an interest in acquiring his services.
Should he move over to Prime, he could make up part of their new top team.
New rights deal
The NBA signed an 11-year deal with three networks for the league's rights from the 2025-26 season.
And there will be no games on TNT for the first time since the network launched in 1988.
The Walt Disney Company will continue to show the league with 80 regular-season games across ESPN and ABC.
They will also show around 18 playoff games from the first and second round, a Conference Finals series for 10 of the 11 years, and remain the home of the NBA Finals.
NBC will return as an NBA broadcaster for the first time since 2002.
The network will show up to 100 games per season across it’s channels and Peacock streaming service.
It will also be the home of NBA All-Star and show approximately 28 playoff games from the first and second round.
NBC will show one Conference Finals Series for six of the 11 years, rotating with new broadcaster Amazon Prime.
Amazon will show 66 NBA regular-season games including one on Black Friday.
The streaming service is also the home of the latter stages of the NBA Cup and the entire Play-In Tournament.
Prime will also broadcast around one third of the playoff games in the first and second round.
Amazon has already hired Ian Eagle as their main play-by-play announcer.
Eagle, 56, struck up a rapport with Jefferson while the pair covered the Brooklyn Nets on YES Network.
Prime have also shown interest in TNT’s Stan Van Gundy.
While Dwyane Wade is on their radar.
Prime are also on the lookout for a new sideline reporter.
Per The Athletic, the streamer has agreed a deal with ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth to take on the role.
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