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Tim Legler has reached the pinnacle of NBA broadcasting. Unlike many of his predecessors, he has no desire to parlay his media role into a coaching job.
The 10-year NBA veteran, who is making his NBA Finals broadcasting debut for ABC/ESPN this year alongside Richard Jefferson and Hall-of-Famer Mike Breen, dismissed the possibility of taking an NBA coaching job in an interview with Front Office Sports.
“No, honestly, I haven’t put any thought into it,” Legler said Thursday in between Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals.
ESPN has seen members of its lead NBA broadcast team return to coaching several times. Mark Jackson called the NBA Finals from 2007–2010, coached the Warriors from 2011–2014, then returned to ESPN. ESPN brought Doc Rivers, who called the 2004 NBA Finals, into its lead broadcast team for the 2023–24 season, then he left midseason to coach the Bucks.
Most recently, JJ Redick called the 2024 NBA Finals and was announced as the Lakers coach after the series concluded.
Legler said he’s constantly asked by fans about his desire to coach because of his Xs-and-Os approach to broadcasting. He said he previously pursued NCAA Division 1 coaching opportunities, even interviewing with schools like Duquesne, South Florida, and La Salle, his alma mater.
But he never got an offer.
“I really wanted a D1 program to call my own,” Legler said. “I went through the interview process several times and I didn’t get it.”
Legler said his college coaching interviews happened about 6–8 years ago. In a 2022 interview on The Old Man and The Three, which was then hosted by Redick, he still expressed a desire to coach in the NCAA.
“I haven’t been able to get that door kicked open,” Legler said.
Changes in the NCAA in recent years—including NIL and the transfer portal—have also muddied his outlook on college coaching. Broadcasting, he said, grants him a better lifestyle.
Legler, who has been with ESPN since 2000, started calling nationally televised NBA games last year. He took over for Doris Burke on the company’s “A-Team” this season.
“Maybe it was the biggest blessing because I love what I’m doing and I’m really grateful where I’m at,” Legler said. “Feels like this is the path that I was destined to be on and I’m really grateful. And I don’t really put much thought into coaching at all anymore.”
ESPN’s lead NBA broadcast team has had significant turnover since moving on from Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy in 2023. This is their fourth season in a row with a different group alongside Breen, who has called the last 21 NBA Finals:
- 2023: Breen, Van Gundy, Jackson
- 2024: Breen, Burke, Redick
- 2025: Breen, Burke, Jefferson
- 2026: Breen, Jefferson, Legler
There is also ostensibly more pressure on ESPN as the NBA began its new 11-year media deal this year, replacing Warner Bros. Discovery with new media partners NBC and Amazon Prime. (ESPN has the rights to the NBA Finals for the entire deal.)
But Legler said he feels “comfortable” and “prepared” for his new role, and is optimistic that the current trio will be given some runway to build continuity in the booth, even as Breen enters the back half of his sixties.
“Hopefully this is the last chair I sit at in ESPN,” Legler said. “I’ve sat in a lot of chairs and I want to do this for a long time—and hopefully Richard and Mike feel the same way.
It’s a crazy industry, but that would certainly be the goal and the hope for all of us.”
