Report: Jeff Van Gundy, top ESPN insider out Game 1 due to COVID
Feb 5, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center. The Spurs defeat the Mavericks 116-90. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN will be missing at least one member of its top NBA broadcasting crew when the NBA Finals tip off on Thursday evening.
Jeff Van Gundy will not call Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors after he tested positive for COVID, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports. Top NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski also will not be part of the broadcast due to COVID protocols.
Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen missed Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals after he tested positive. Breen is said to be feeling better, but his availability for the start of the NBA Finals remains in question.
Van Gundy sounded noticeably sick during Sunday night’s game between the Celtics and Miami Heat. That led to a lot of speculation about him also being ill.
If Breen is not cleared, Mark Jones will take over play-by-play duties like he did in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Mark Jackson will serve as the lone analyst in a two-man booth while Van Gundy is out.
Van Gundy, 60, has been a broadcaster for ESPN since being fired by the Houston Rockets in 2007. The hope is that he will be back for Game 3 when the NBA Finals heads to Boston.
