Richard Jefferson knows why ESPN’s lead NBA broadcast gets compared to that which used to feature Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, but he doesn’t think it’s fair.
Jefferson will begin calling his first NBA Finals for ESPN alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke Thursday night. Their first NBA championship series together will undoubtedly be compared to Breen with Van Gundy and Jackson, who had the opportunity to call 15 Finals as a trio.
Jimmy Traina’s latest Sports Illustrated Media podcast featured Jefferson as a guest. And during the interview, Jefferson pushed back on being judged next to a group that had 15 years of experience together.
“There’s comparisons to prior groups, but you look at that original crew we just spoke about, they had a 15-year run,” Jefferson said of Breen with Van Gundy and Jackson. “So, I think it’s a little bit sad if you’re comparing a group that was there 15 years to a group that’s been together a few months trying to build chemistry and working to build chemistry. It’s like a president, their first 100 days.
“Now, if you’re comparing our first 100 days to somebody else’s first 100 days, that’s one thing. But if you’re trying to say, ‘Hey, 15 years, 17 years with a group, these guys were amazing!’ And now Doris and I and Mike are building chemistry and working together and we’re trying to compare that, I don’t think there is an intelligent person in the world that would think that’s the right thing or fair thing to do. But that’s part of the media world we live in. it’s the comparison world. It’s the Michael Jordan vs LeBron James. It’s the comparison world and we all live with that, we love it and that’s part of the reason you light the fire.”
It’s been two years since ESPN opted to part ways with Van Gundy and Jackson, breaking up what was almost unanimously considered the best national broadcast in the NBA. ESPN cut Van Gundy and Jackson on the premise that they had a long-term succession plan. Unfortunately for ESPN, that succession plan featured two analysts who preferred to be NBA coaches.
First it was Breen, Burke and Doc Rivers as the A-team. And when Rivers abruptly left to coach the Milwaukee Bucks, JJ Redick filled the void. And when JJ Redick then abruptly left to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, Jefferson was eventually picked to fill the void. The revolving booth has only emphasized how unique the chemistry and continuity that Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson shared was.
Richard Jefferson is right. Comparing ESPN’s current booth to Breen’s first Finals with Van Gundy and Jackson in 2007 would be the more accurate judgement. But that’s not what is going to happen. Instead, everyone will compare Breen, Burke and Jefferson to their most recent and lasting memories of Van Gundy and Jackson.
Those comparisons, however, are more about highlighting that ESPN undervalued what they had in Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson, and less about exposing Breen, Burke and Jefferson for having any particular faults. Because it is unfair to expect a broadcast booth in their first year to match the chemistry of one that spent 15 seasons together. But in the current media landscape, where networks are paying billions for game rights, new shows and broadcast teams are expected to deliver immediately.