Doris Burke is one of, if not outright the most polarizing commentator working nationally-televised NBA games for ESPN. A good subset of fans believes that Burke provides some very insightful analysis, showing off her immense knowledge of the game, while others don’t necessarily appreciate the way she approaches her commentary gig, thinking that she’s too biased towards certain players.
But when someone like Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade praises your work, like he did for Burke’s coverage of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Sunday night clash, such recognition must feel really validating.
“Doris Burke just broke down the first half of this OKC/MIN game in about 30secs. She hit on every play that was shown on the screen and It made me feel as tho I watched the first half( I didn’t) That so hard to do! I have so much respect for the voices of our game,” Wade wrote on his official account on X (formerly Twitter).
Burke is usually paired up with someone like veteran play-by-play commentator Mike Breen, so that means she is taking on the role of providing color commentating and analysis. And prior to the start of the third quarter of the Thunder-Timberwolves matchup, Burke was able to summarize the events of the game to that point with such vividness and depth, much to the delight of the Miami Heat legend.
“The pace was incredible. It was a 40-point second quarter dominated by Minnesota. But the action in the final minute was extraordinary. Naz Reid’s handprints were all over the comeback,” Burke said. “They have found something in the rookie [Jaylen] Clark. That three, followed up by yet another forced turnover into a tough bucket. Let’s hope the second half is this fun.”
.@dwyanewade is all of us watching Doris Burke games
He had to give Doris her flowers
pic.twitter.com/JGtZxKSl2I
— espnW (@espnW) February 24, 2025
Thunder outlast the Timberwolves in Sunday night thriller
The Timberwolves deserve plenty of credit for making the Western Conference-leading Thunder sweat despite being extremely shorthanded on Sunday night. Minnesota was without Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo, among others, and yet they managed to hang tough all night long, only falling in the end thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s brilliant 37-8-8-3-3 night.
It was a borderline miracle that Minnesota was able to stay in the game even though Oklahoma City shot 55.8 percent on the night and 54.3 percent from beyond the arc, which was a testament to their grit (they shot 28 free throws and made 27) while winning the battle on the glass.
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