Doris Burke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Doris Burke
Burke in 2011
Born	Doris Sable 1964/1965 (age 59–60)
Alma mater	Providence College
Occupation	Sports commentator analyst
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Gregg Burke ​ (divorced)​
Children	2
Awards	See below

Doris Burke (born Doris Sable) is a well-known American sports announcer and analyst. She works for NBA on ESPN, NBA on ABC, College Basketball on ESPN, and College Basketball on ABC games. She used to be an analyst for WNBA games and also worked on New York Knicks games.

Doris Burke made history as the first female commentator to call a New York Knicks game on both radio and television. She played college basketball for the Providence Friars. She finished her college career as the player with the most assists for her school.

Because of her important work, Burke was chosen to join the Basketball Hall of Fame. She received the 2018 Curt Gowdy Media Award. In 2023, ESPN picked Burke for their top NBA commentary team. She became the first woman to be a game analyst on TV for a championship final. This was for the 2024 NBA Finals, a major event in North American men's sports.

Early life and basketball beginnings

Doris Sable was born in West Islip, New York. When she was seven years old, her family moved to Manasquan, New Jersey. She grew up there as the youngest of eight children. Doris started playing basketball when she was in second grade. Some of her favorite basketball players when she was young were Kyle Macy, Kelly Tripucka, and Tom Heinsohn.

Burke played as a point guard at Manasquan High School. Many colleges wanted her to play for them. She spent her summers playing basketball and became well-known in her local area.

College basketball career

Doris Burke went to Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. She played as the point guard for the Providence Friars women's basketball team for four years. During her college career, she averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 assists per game.

In her first year, Burke led the Big East Conference in assists. She was named to the All-Big East team twice, in 1986 and 1987. She was also on the Big East all-tournament teams in those years. In 1987, her senior year, she was named the college's Co-Female Athlete of the Year. She was also recognized as an All-American player that year.

Burke left Providence College as the player with the most assists ever, with 602. In 1999, she was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame. She was the fifth woman to receive this honor. At Providence, Burke earned a degree in health service administration/social work. Later, she earned a master's degree in education.

Broadcasting career highlights

Starting in sports commentary

Burke began her career in broadcasting in 1990. She started as an analyst for women's basketball games for her college on the radio. In the same year, she began working on Big East women's games for television. By 1996, she was also working on Big East men's games.

Burke has worked for ESPN in different roles since 1991. She has been part of ESPN's coverage of the WNBA. For many years, she was the main voice for the New York Liberty team on radio and TV. In 2003, she joined ESPN's men's college basketball coverage. She worked with famous commentator Dick Vitale. She also started working as a sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC for their NBA coverage, starting with the 2003–04 NBA season.

Breaking new ground

In 2000, Doris Burke became the first woman to be a commentator for a New York Knicks game on both radio and television. She was also the first woman to commentate a Big East men's game. She was also the first woman to be the main commentator for a men's college basketball conference package. From 2009 to 2019, Burke was a sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on ABC. She also worked as an analyst for some regular season and playoff games until 2017.

In 2010, Burke was featured as the new sideline reporter for the NBA 2K11 video game by 2K Sports. She has appeared in every game in the series since then, including the latest one, NBA 2K25.

In October 2013, Burke signed a new contract to continue as an NBA commentator for ESPN. On November 13, she debuted on ESPN's NBA pre-game show NBA Countdown. She worked alongside analysts Jalen Rose and Avery Johnson.

In 2017, Burke became a regular NBA game analyst for ESPN. This made her the first woman at the national level to have a full-time role covering the regular season. She continued sideline reporting for the conference finals and the NBA Finals until 2019. In 2020, Burke began calling the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio. This made her the first woman to call these major games on radio.

In August 2023, ESPN/ABC announced that Burke would join Mike Breen and former NBA coach Doc Rivers on their main broadcasting team. This made Burke the first woman to be a television analyst for a major American men's championship. She also became the first woman TV analyst for the NBA Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.

Personal life

Doris Burke is divorced from Gregg Burke. They have two children together. Gregg Burke is the head golf coach at the University of Rhode Island.

Awards and honors

• 1999: Inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame.
• 2003: Received the USA Today Rudy Award as the Best New Face in Sports Television.
• 2004: Honored with induction into the Institute for International Sport's Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame.
• 2005: Providence College awarded her an honorary doctorate degree.
• 2006: Inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
• 2006: Became a member of the North Providence Hall of Fame.
• 2012: Received the Silver Anniversary Award from the NCAA. This award recognized her achievements in sports and her career.
• 2018: Selected by the Basketball Hall of Fame as the 2018 Curt Gowdy Media Award winner for her pioneering work.
• 2019: For their first game in March, the women of the United States women's national soccer team wore jerseys honoring important women. Player Tobin Heath chose to wear a jersey with Doris Burke's name.