Once upon a time, Doris Burke didn’t think she had a future in broadcasting. Working as a radio analyst on women’s college basketball games up at Providence College in the early 90s, Burke confided in the legendary college basketball administrator Dave Gavitt, “I don’t think I have the personality to do this job.”
Fortunately for basketball fans, Gavitt talked some sense into Burke, telling her “people don’t ever tune into a game because of the play-by-play and color person. They tune in to see the players, the team, the coaches.”
Then, as Burke remembers it, Gavitt gave her some of the best advice she’s ever received: “Don’t ever make them want to turn it off.”
No sane basketball fan is turning off a game featuring Burke because the ESPN broadcaster, who has been analyzing games since half the audience watching was in diapers, is widely revered by media watchers, colleagues, and Canada’s most famous hit maker.
We caught up with your favorite broadcaster’s favorite broadcaster before she works the Wizards-Celtics Christmas matchup (ABC, 5:30 pm ET) to talk about her historic appointment this past summer, the reaction from her recent Sports Illustrated feature, why she’s buying the Celtics as legit threat to the Cavs, and why dinner with Drake still hasn’t happened yet.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
When ESPN made you the first woman to be a network analyst for NBA games earlier this year, whose congratulations meant the most?
Oh, boy, that’s a great question. Probably my coordinating producer for the sport, Tim Corrigan.
Which one meant the most to you?
Probably the support I got from Jeff Van Gundy relative to the job opening and his belief that I had earned the opportunity and I should sort of go after it. He called me the night of the news of Doug Collins and he said did you see the news. Of course I did. And he said would you want those games. I said of course I would. And he said you need to make that clear to somebody. Frankly, I’m not good at those calls. I always put my head down, work as hard as I can, and sort of let the chips falls were they may. But the fact that Jeff—somebody that has so much respect inside the NBA—would think that I was 1. ready and 2. had earned it, it was probably more than anybody else Jeff.
When Jeff Van Gundy says “There’s no better basketball analyst in the world” how does that make you feel?
I think that’s clearly the bias of somebody who is a friend, to be honest with you. There’s no doubt in my mind that the trio that calls the NBA Finals—Mike [Breen], Jeff, and Mark [Jackson]—they are the best announcers on the NBA at this moment. I am very biased, and believe there are many that would concur with that. I’ve told Jeff this many times, there are at least three-to-four times every single broadcast where he says something or Mark says something and I say to myself this is why they are the No. 1 analysts. There’s just an insight they bring that’s part and parcel to the experience they have inside the league that just makes it so appropriate. I would say the same thing about Hubie Brown. This job remains an on-going learning process. I don’t know everything about the league. There are so many aspects of matchups and strategy that I’m still learning along the way.
What do you love most about broadcasting games?
I love that I have been able stay around the game since I was seven years old. It has probably shaped my life to a greater degree than it should have since that time. I just feel really lucky. It’s a great love. Whether I was broadcasting it or not, I can promise you I would be watching it. Now that my responsibilities are exclusively NBA, I watch two NBA games a night, usually fall asleep in the third quarter of the west coast game. Then I’ll pop up the next morning and either finish that game or pick up another one on League Pass. I just love it. I’ve been really fortunate to work my whole career on something that’s meant a great deal to me for a long time.
What’s been the reaction to the Sports Illustrated piece?
I’ve had several calls and texts or people reaching out via Twitter to say, hey, great story. It’s nice. I’ll be honest with you, there was a time when the negative reaction I’ve experienced over the course of my career on Twitter, what I would tell you is in the last several years that has greatly diminished. Why that is, I really don’t know. I have some thoughts perhaps why, but no empirical data to back up my thoughts by any stretch.
The strongest quote you gave in there was “The physical appearance and natural aging of all the men doing this job don’t matter. It’s funny with this whole Matt Lauer thing. I have been reading how he has aged, but his [female] cohosts stay in the same demographic grouping. So he gets older but his sidekick does not? Right. Frankly, that’s b-------. That’s absolute b-------.” I’m curious about two things: 1. has there been any backlash from the quote and 2. Is there always going to be a double standard for women in the business of sports broadcasting?
I certainly don’t think we’re past the point in history where a woman’s physical appearance may play some part in job availability or job acquisition. We have not crossed a bridge where a woman north of 60 is doing this job and I was sort of speaking out of two sides of my mouth because to be perfectly frank, I’m 52, and I promise you I won’t be doing this job when I’m 60-plus. My children, God willing, will have their own children at that point. I’ve been very appreciative, but I don’t want to be north of 60 and doing this job. That being said, there will be a woman who does want to do it and as long as her skills are worthy she should have the opportunity to do it. I don’t care of if there are wrinkles on her face or age spots on her hand—all of the things that occur naturally to all of us. If it doesn’t matter for men, then it shouldn’t matter for women. And we are not at that point clearly and that’s frustrating for me.
It’s interesting you say you’re going to be done by age 60 because you’re getting better and better at this job and you would think you’d be peaking at this job but you’re really willing and able to walk away from this to become a grandmother.
The travel portion of my job is less extensive and less demanding [than it used to be]. The fact I don’t have to keep up with three sports as I do this job, certainly I feel less fatigue and better able to sort of have a rhythm and sanity and feel better prepared for every sing game I do. I’ve had this goal for a long time. I don’t want ever to say never. I’ll re-evaluate after every contract. But I’m telling you now that it is hard to conceive of myself at 60-plus and traveling around the country. I don’t know what the iteration of my next career would be. It’ll be interesting to see. But that is how I feel right now. My goal has always been I don’t want to be 6-0 and on TV and living out of a hotel and a suitcase. I definitely want to be a doting grandmother. I love babies. My colleagues will tell you if I’m in an arena and there’s a baby in my vicinity I’m holding that baby.
We’ve seen allegations of sexual harassment shake Hollywood and we’ve seen the sports world now deal with the ramifications. Do you expect more to come to light?
My sense says where there are people there are problems. And those problems can take any number of shapes and forms. So yes. It’s sort of a discussion amongst all of us. What’s next? Who’s next? Certainly we’re anticipating. There’s been these examples in Hollywood and news. Certainly the sports world is going to be effected because there are people involved.
"One team that I don’t think is being talked enough about is Toronto. They’ve changed the way they’re playing. Kyle [Lowry] and DeMar [DeRozan] are moving the basketball, they’ve bought into the analytics to the NBA’s portion of thinking which is layups and threes are most valuable. I don’t think they’re a championship team this year. But can they make some hay, this year."
You’re doing the Wizards-Celtics game on Christmas, are the Celtics a real, legit threat to the Cavs?
It’s hard for me to conceive of the fact LeBron has been to seven straight NBA Finals. I never consider anything a foregone conclusion in the NBA simply because an ill-timed injury could derail the plans. Obviously it’s hard to doubt LeBron and in my mind he’s the MVP right now. That said, Boston has far exceeded my expectations and with talking to Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge when I’ve had a opportunity to work their games, they’ve exceeded their own internal expectations. Against the Pacers, the shot-making of Kyrie Irving put them in a position to win a ballgame I thought they had blown unequivocally. His ability to create shots in tight spaces and deliver in the most tense moments always gives them an opportunity. The emergence of Jayson Tatum as a legitimate secondary scorer in the fourth quarter has surprised me as has his ability to contribute on the boards defensively in their switching system. Aron Baynes has been this incredible contributor for them. I had gone to their first day of training camp and I can’t remember who on staff said Baynes will be a huge acquisition and he’s shown worthy of every confidence of that early. One of the keys that gets overlooked is Al Horford. He’s faced criticism with the Boston fanbase of perhaps not being the player they thought. But Al’s ability to establish this chemistry with Kyrie in the pick and roll and his ability to stretch defenses making the three and his ability as a passer and his effort on the defensive end is crucial to making the team function on both ends. I definitely think it could be a compelling series between Cleveland and Boston if it ends up that way. And that shocks me in the aftermath of Gordon Hayward’s injury.
When will the Thunder finally figure it out?
I have held firmly to the belief that they will figure it out simply because talent wins out in the NBA. What will fascinate me to watch is how that takes shape. First and foremost, I don’t think Russell Westbrook’s shooting percentages will stay where they are. He puts in too much work and has too much confidence to think otherwise. I interviewed him after the Philadelphia game and I can’t remember exactly what my question was, but it’s been a struggle trying to figure it out with these two guys, and his response was we’ll keep grinding and I don’t give a damn about percentages. It was classic Russ. There’s a competitive drive in Paul [George] and Russ and I think Carmelo [Anthony] has proven historically he can fit in around other great players, most notably in USA Basketball. I’m holding to the notion they’ll figure it out. And the reality is they just need to figure it out before the playoffs. Clearly, it’s hard to picture them figuring it out well enough to get anything other than maybe a first round home playoff series, but if they have figured it out and built enough momentum then that won’t matter. I don’t think they’re a championship team this year. But can they make some hay this year? I think they can.
What performance, individual or team, has surprised you the most this season?
One team that I don’t think is being talked enough about is Toronto. I could take the easy path and talk about Houston because that’s obviously a major storyline and I am buying what the Houston Rockets are putting down. I believe they are a legitimate threat to Golden State. That said, the team no one is talking about right now is Toronto. They’ve changed the way they’re playing. Kyle [Lowry] and DeMar [DeRozan] are moving the basketball, they’ve bought into the analytics to the NBA’s portion of thinking which is layups and threes are most valuable. Their young people off the bench are playing terrific. There’s a lot of like up north. I don’t have them in person I think until February but I can’t wait to see them in person.
Dinner with Drake never happened, right?
It did not. I have to say, I have not yet had an opportunity to tell him this, but he did make my life a heck of a lot more fun there for a few weeks. So I would send a shoutout to him for that reason alone. He’s usually out of town when I come in [to Toronto].
