Is Doris Burke the best commentator in sports right now?

[azcatz11]

I enjoy her NCAA football coverage. When it comes to basketball, she seems to be missing something. Still, she is one of the best in an era that has little talent.

Why doesn't Clyde Frazier have that gig?

You are thinking of the wrong person

[azcatz11]

She's not bad as people deem her to be. Not as shallow as a Reggie Miller, tends to over-exaggerate stuff so sometimes she sounds more a fan than a commentator but she knows her stuff. Richard Jefferson's analysis is the top one for me, i think being a role player really exposes you to the smaller nuances of the game and it shows in his takes.

Listen to her on a podcast. She is the worst person you will ever hear.

[NBA_is_cringe]

Easily the worst on air. Ratings must be notably lower with her commentating. Makes no sense

it's social engineering, which is actually the entire point of the entire NBA

[CS707]

She's not bad as people deem her to be. Not as shallow as a Reggie Miller, tends to over-exaggerate stuff so sometimes she sounds more a fan than a commentator but she knows her stuff. Richard Jefferson's analysis is the top one for me, i think being a role player really exposes you to the smaller nuances of the game and it shows in his takes.

She’s not as bad in the sense that most of them are bad and she’s not appreciably better or worse. Agree on the exaggerations being the most annoying part and also about Jefferson. I really didn’t want to like him but he’s pretty good.

There is literally nobody worse than Bob Fitzgerald though.

[AdamSSSlither]

haha, what?
i would rather pay to hear jvg, jackson and breen, then get paid to listen to doris.

[BigGargamel]

She's awful. I'm glad she helped open the door for women in the booth, but she's just past her prime. Sounds tired, bored and disinterested half the time.

[Lalouie]

I've criticized Doris aplenty but think a lot of the criticism is of the subjective variety, not liking her voice, etc.

I think she gushes with superlatives too much, and is an unabashed Tatum fan, but she knows her basketball. She is always prepared. She was not handed any position to fill a quota.

For the record I think having chemistry with Jackson or Miller shouldn't be any sort of qualification. Rather, why not have it be on them to have chemistry with their fellow commentators? Lol So that's not a knock on her.

Not my favourite, but I respect her and would like to see her continue alongside Breen.

i was listening to skip bayles a few years ago

my wife walks in, she knows nothing about skip or sports

she literally listened for less than 10seconds and she said "i don't like him"

that is why doris's style and voice matters. this is media - it all matters

[G R E Y]

I've criticized Doris aplenty but think a lot of the criticism is of the subjective variety, not liking her voice, etc.

I think she gushes with superlatives too much, and is an unabashed Tatum fan, but she knows her basketball. She is always prepared. She was not handed any position to fill a quota.

For the record I think having chemistry with Jackson or Miller shouldn't be any sort of qualification. Rather, why not have it be on them to have chemistry with their fellow commentators? Lol So that's not a knock on her.

Not my favourite, but I respect her and would like to see her continue alongside Breen.

i was listening to skip bayles a few years ago

my wife walks in, she knows nothing about skip or sports

she literally listened for less than 10seconds and she said "i don't like him"

that is why doris's style and voice matters. this is media - it all matters

In fairness, many women have that response to Bayles and maybe some men lol. He just oozes something off-putting down to his voice.

But yeah I agree, a lot of it is just, it clicks or it doesn't.

Sometimes it sounds like the mic is turned up too loud or too close to her mouth or something.

I think she has a great laugh. She clearly loves what she does and is very well prepared. Also I don't think she is trying to be like anyone else and I appreciate that.

My annoyance is not about more pertinent things like when other commentators can't get a player's name right or say the dumbest things and are still on air. Perk. Or shout everything. SAS.

It's a personal preference thing and sometimes I'm just in a pissy mood and sensitive to sound.

It would be a loss to not extend Doris's contract. I would much rather hear her call games than have to listen to Shaq Perk Miller Jackson.

[Lalouie]

I've criticized Doris aplenty but think a lot of the criticism is of the subjective variety, not liking her voice, etc.

I think she gushes with superlatives too much, and is an unabashed Tatum fan, but she knows her basketball. She is always prepared. She was not handed any position to fill a quota.

For the record I think having chemistry with Jackson or Miller shouldn't be any sort of qualification. Rather, why not have it be on them to have chemistry with their fellow commentators? Lol So that's not a knock on her.

Not my favourite, but I respect her and would like to see her continue alongside Breen.

i was listening to skip bayles a few years ago

my wife walks in, she knows nothing about skip or sports

she literally listened for less than 10seconds and she said "i don't like him"

that is why doris's style and voice matters. this is media - it all matters

In fairness, many women have that response to Bayles and maybe some men lol. He just oozes something off-putting down to his voice.

But yeah I agree, a lot of it is just, it clicks or it doesn't.

Sometimes it sounds like the mic is turned up too loud or too close to her mouth or something.

I think she has a great laugh. She clearly loves what she does and is very well prepared. Also I don't think she is trying to be like anyone else and I appreciate that.

My annoyance is not about more pertinent things like when other commentators can't get a player's name right or say the dumbest things and are still on air. Perk. Or shout everything. SAS.

It's a personal preference thing and sometimes I'm just in a pissy mood and sensitive to sound.

It would be a loss to not extend Doris's contract. I would much rather hear her call games than have to listen to Shaq Perk Miller Jackson.

there you go. sounds hits us all differently
there's nothing grating about doris. it's like i said, she sounds like my auntie

i guess really it's all white noise to me. there's too much overpraising. she has a style but her style is too coddling for me. to her every player can do no wrong

i know lots of people didnt like jvg/jackson. but they had the right timbre for me, and enuf insouciance from jvg to make me laugh...i was entertained

[Ugly0598]

She is the worst commentator in sports. I do not want to be around her.

[lethalizer]

I used to enjoy Doris' commentary a lot more when she was more like the "up and coming" play by play commentator. Her takes sounded genuine, and stuff didn't feel forced.

She's now trying to cosplay Hubie Brown, and is really really terrible at it.

[uconn83]

in a few years Stephanie White will be her successor

[wade44]

Easily the worst on air. Ratings must be notably lower with her commentating. Makes no sense

The quality of the broadcast drops dramatically when she commentates. I haven’t bothered watching a nationally televised game since she’s started (for various reasons but this being #1). Like someone else pointed out, plug someone like Candace Parker in there and you instantly have night and day better coverage

[MyTake_1]

Doris Burke is annoying, not someone I enjoy listening to. I don't know why they push her so hard.

[Ice Man]

She's solid. She has to be, otherwise as a woman she never would have advanced this far covering men's sports. I mean, nobody handed her a job just because of who she is, like what happened with CWebb. But no, I don't think she's the best. As mentioned above, Clyde is better. Stacey King is also a more gifted announcer, although his analysis is not as good.

[TheCage4]

When she talks, I mute my TV.

[druggas]

Hubie Brown at least taught you how to diagnose a play, Burke is the answer to "How to control insomnia?".

[bisme37]

I am seeing all these posts about how Doris hearts Tatum and it's funny because when the Celtics play the Sixers we C's fans are bitching about how much Doris loves Joel and the Sixers and it's nauseating etc, and then I go lurk on the Sixers board and they are saying the same in reverse. (Just as one example of the point I'm getting at.)

I think I've decided Doris just doesn't like saying negative stuff and wants to focus on positives. So she ends up boasting about the team and players that are winning the game and kinda ignoring the team that's sucking. And then fans think she's in love with the team that's winning.

Or something like that.

And she also seems drawn to players who are good guys off the court, so maybe that's part of what people have seen with her Tatum commentary. But from other Doris games I've watched, it's really not exclusive to JT.

[Bank Shot]

Nope, too much of a company woman. If ESPN is pushing some goofy narrative on their talk shows, she's going to be pushing it during the broadcast.

[Dan33185]

ESPN's three-person booth of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson is set to call the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers starting on Thursday, June 5. According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, it might be their last as a team.

In a column detailing the Worldwide Leader's future plans, Marchand wrote that while the network "intends on re-signing" Jefferson—who replaced now-Lakers coach JJ Redick—Burke's standing with the top team is a little more uncertain.

"Burke’s spot is not guaranteed for next season ..." he wrote. "While Breen, the Basketball Hall of Famer under a long-term deal, is not going anywhere, ESPN will evaluate its entire roster."

"ESPN executives will debate what is next, with one discussion likely centering around if they feel Burke is better on a two-person team as opposed to the three-person team," Marchand continued.

Burke has been working for ESPN since 1991. She was promoted to their lead NBA broadcast team in 2023 after Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were laid off, making her the first woman to serve as a TV analyst for a major American sports men's championship.

https://www.si.com/nba/doris-burke-calls-out-julius-randle-bad-body-language-after-turnover