With ESPN letting go of commentators Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, it leaves the network’s lead NBA announcer Mike Breen without his longtime sidekicks.
Speaking with The New York Post, Breen expressed his sadness over Jackson and Van Gundy being gone from the network.
They’ll reportedly be replaced by longtime NBA reporter Doris Burke and former NBA coach Doc Rivers.
It’ll be a tough transition for Breen, however, as he’d really developed a great chemistry with Jackson and Van Gundy in the years they’d all worked together.
You could tell in Breen’s words how much the partnership meant to him.
“It’s sad because we really thought we had something special and that’s going to be the thought going forward is that we were able to do it a lot longer than anybody ever did,” Breen told The Post. “It’s something we’ll all treasure, but we just wish it was a little bit longer.
“You don’t expect it, because it was such a great team and to have it completely broken up was a surprise.”
This is a tough turn of events for Breen, but Burke and Rivers definitely could replace Jackson and Van Gundy with success.
It’s just never easy to say goodbye to your on-air partners, so we definitely get where Breen is coming from with his words. NBA fans will see how the transition goes when ESPN’s game coverage returns this fall.