Career Timeline of Doris Burke: Major Achievements and Milestones

Discover the career path of Doris Burke, from the first major opportunity to industry-changing achievements.

Doris Burke is a prominent American sports announcer and analyst known for her work with NBA and College Basketball games on ESPN and ABC. She has also covered WNBA games and New York Knicks games. Notably, Burke broke barriers as the first female commentator to provide play-by-play commentary for a New York Knicks game on both radio and television.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

1986: All-Big East and Big East all-tournament teams

In 1986, Doris Burke was named to both the All-Big East and Big East all-tournament teams.

1987: Co-Female Athlete of the Year and All-American

In 1987, as a senior, Doris Burke was the college's Co-Female Athlete of the Year and was also named an All-American.

1990: Broadcasting career begins

In 1990, Doris Burke began her broadcasting career as an analyst for women's games for her alma mater on radio. That same year, Burke began working in the same role on Big East women's games on television.

1991: Joins ESPN

In 1991, Doris Burke began working for ESPN in various positions and was a part of ESPN's coverage of the WNBA.

1996: Analyst for Big East men's games

In 1996, Doris Burke began working Big East men's games as an analyst on television.

1999: Inducted into Providence College Hall of Fame

In 1999, Doris Burke was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame, becoming the fifth woman to be so honored.

2000: First woman commentator

In 2000, Doris Burke became the first woman to be a commentator for a New York Knicks game on radio and television; she is also the first woman to be a commentator for a Big East men's game, and the first woman to be the primary commentator on a men's college basketball conference package.

2003: USA Today Rudy Award

In 2003, Doris Burke received the USA Today Rudy Award as the Best New Face in Sports Television.

2003: ESPN's men's college basketball coverage

In 2003, Doris Burke was named to ESPN's men's college basketball coverage, working with Dick Vitale, and began working the sidelines for ESPN and ABC for their coverage of the NBA beginning with the 2003–04 NBA season.

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2004: Induction into the Institute for International Sport's Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame

In the spring of 2004, Doris Burke was honored with induction into the Institute for International Sport's Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame.

October 2006: Induction into New England Basketball Hall of Fame

In October 2006, Doris Burke was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. The same year, she became a member of the North Providence Hall of Fame.

2009: Sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on ABC

From 2009, Doris Burke served as a sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on ABC.

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2010: Sideline reporter for NBA 2K11

In 2010, Doris Burke was featured as the new sideline reporter for 2K Sports's NBA 2K11 video game.

January 2012: Silver Anniversary Award

In January 2012, Doris Burke received the Silver Anniversary Award in recognition of her athletic and professional accomplishments from the NCAA.

2012: All-time leader in assists

As of 2012, Doris Burke was still second in the all-time leader in assists category at Providence College.

October 2013: Signs multi-year contract extension

In October 2013, Doris Burke signed a multi-year contract extension to serve as an NBA commentator for ESPN and debuted on ESPN's NBA pre-game show NBA Countdown, alongside analysts Jalen Rose and Avery Johnson on November 13.

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2017: Regular NBA game analyst for ESPN

In 2017, Doris Burke became a regular NBA game analyst for ESPN, becoming the first woman at the national level to be assigned a full regular-season role, replacing Doug Collins.

2017: Analyst in regular season and playoff games

Until 2017, Doris Burke worked as an analyst in select regular season and playoff games.

2018: Curt Gowdy Media Award winner

In 2018, Doris Burke was selected by the Basketball Hall of Fame as the Curt Gowdy Media Award winner, honored for her pioneering work.

2019: End of sideline reporting for NBA Finals

In 2019, Doris Burke's tenure as a sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on ABC came to an end.

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2019: Continued sideline reporting

Until 2019, Doris Burke continued sideline reporting for the conference finals and the NBA Finals.

2020: Conference Finals and NBA Finals on ESPN Radio

In 2020, Doris Burke began calling the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio, making her the first woman to call the conference finals and NBA Finals on radio.

August 2023: Joins lead broadcasting team

In August 2023, ESPN/ABC announced that Doris Burke, along with former NBA coach Doc Rivers, will join Mike Breen on their lead broadcasting team, replacing Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. This makes Burke the first woman to serve as a television analyst for a major American men's championship, and the first woman TV analyst for the NBA Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.

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2023: ESPN's No. 1 NBA commentary team

In 2023, ESPN named Doris Burke to their No. 1 NBA commentary team.

2024: First woman game analyst on television

In 2024, Doris Burke became the first woman to serve as a game analyst on television for a championship final (the 2024 NBA Finals) in one of the four major North American professional men's sports leagues.