Doris Burke and ESPN Colleagues Face Heat Over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Unfair Habit Before NBA Finals

From the start of the Finals series, if not the entire season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the reason for buzz around OKC. The MVP, with his cold-blooded, methodical, and aggressive style of play, has pushed the team ahead despite the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton getting the better of him and the two ending up in the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 2016 when the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers went against the Golden State Warriors. While the stretch leading up to this decisive game has been full of fiery clashes, the off-court drama has also turned into fiery debates. And as if all the noise against ESPN’s broadcasting crew was not enough, we’ve got some more. At the center of it all, is SGA.

NBA’s Rule 12B–Section II-c states: “The dribbler must be in control of his body at all times. If illegal contact occurs, the responsibility is on the dribbler.”

However, as per Barstool’s Mark Titus, it’s another reason to fire shots at ESPN. While most of the basketball world has been busy falling in love with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Finals performance, Titus is saying what a few people have only dared to whisper: that SGA’s game isn’t just unique — it feels unfair. This ‘unfair habit’ has been a flashpoint all series long, and it came to a head in the most crucial moment of Game 4.

With under 2:30 left in the fourth quarter and the Thunder down by one, SGA went into isolation against Aaron Nesmith. He drove left, used his right arm to create space on a step-back, sent Nesmith stumbling, and calmly hit the go-ahead jumper. It was a cold-blooded shot, but the replay clearly showed the off-arm extension. It’s a move he’s gone to time and time again, a masterful, borderline-illegal tactic that has fans and analysts tearing their hair out; including Titus, who went on a minute-long rant on how ESPN’s crew, especially Doris Burke, has been selling Shai’s style to millions.

On this week’s Mostly Sports podcast, Titus gave his perspective, “I have zero respect for SGA. Zero. None. I f—— hate watching him. I think he’s the worst MVP of my lifetime. I think he’s disgusting to watch. I think the Thunder are a blight on basketball. I think the way they play is disgusting. I think there’s this idea that they are a team. A bunch of young guys that come together, they play great team defense. They don’t. They hacked the s— out of guys. SGA has zero bag whatsoever. He pushes on every basket he scores. And then the refs, for some reason, don’t call it. And then the commentators do their best to carry water for him.

“They’re like, ‘Wooh, he’s creating separation right there.’ We all saw it. He put his shoulder down, he pushed off. That’s the only move he has. He either gets fouled and he goes to the free-throw line or hits the mid-range jumper that Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson say, ‘Look at how good he is getting to his spot and creating separation.’ Then they slow-mo it and we see the whole same f—— play over and over. We all know how he does it and for some reason, refs don’t call it. It drives me up the God-damn wall.”

The irony’s hard to miss.

Earlier in the playoffs, Thunder fans slammed Burke for even mentioning the “free-throw merchant” label that’s followed SGA for years — the rip-throughs, the leg kicks, the baiting. Now? Those same fans are watching her get accused of sugarcoating what looks like an offensive foul. It’s a no-win situation that highlights the intense pressure of the Finals broadcast, a pressure that now extends far beyond on-court analysis.

Is this Doris Burke’s last stint with ESPN?

While the on-court action has been intense, the off-court drama surrounding the future of ESPN’s broadcast booth has been just as compelling. According to a recent report from The Athletic, Doris Burke’s spot on the lead broadcast team is “not guaranteed for next season.” Burke, who made history this year as the first woman to be a TV analyst for Finals of any of the 4 major leagues, could be calling her last championship series for the network.

So, why the uncertainty? The answer lies in the criticism she faced through the Finals series, from the name calling to the apparent unpreparedness. But also, in the massive landscape-altering media rights deal the NBA is finalizing. For the first time in over two decades, ESPN/ABC is about to have some serious competition. The league is reportedly locking in a new 11-year, $76 billion deal that brings NBC and Amazon Prime Video into the fold as major broadcast partners. This isn’t just a new channel on the dial; it’s a paradigm shift.

Suddenly, ESPN is no longer the undisputed king of the NBA world. They are about to be in a street fight for viewers, and the pressure to have the perfect, most-liked broadcast team is immense. Something the trio of Burke, Jefferson, and Mike Breen hasn’t been able to deliver.

NBC is reportedly making a major play to bring in Charles Barkley, with NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus saying, “If Charles were available, we’d certainly love to have that conversation with him.” Amazon, with its near-limitless resources, can build any kind of broadcast team it wants from scratch.

This new reality puts a huge amount of pressure on ESPN’s current crew. The fan criticism of the Breen-Burke-Jefferson booth, whether fair or not, is no longer just social media noise. In a competitive market, viewer sentiment matters. ESPN executives are now forced to evaluate everything, including whether a two-person booth might be more effective or if a different combination of analysts would create better chemistry.

For Doris Burke, a trailblazer who has reached the pinnacle of her profession, her future on the biggest stage might now depend less on her undeniable knowledge of the game and more on the cold, hard business of a new media war.