Rick Carlise and Doris Burke have each had an incredible amount of staying power in basketball. Carlisle has been an NBA head coach since 2001, and his 23 seasons in the top spot on the bench rank 12th in NBA history.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said it was “sad” to see Wednesday’s report from The Athletic speculating on Doris Burke’s future in ESPN’s top NBA broadcasting booth before the 2025 NBA Finals tipped off.

As ESPN broadcaster Doris Burke's future on the network's top NBA broadcasts is in flux, she has a fierce defender in Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. Burke's work broadcasting the Oklahoma City Thunder in particular has come under fire as of late after she referred to MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a "free-throw merchant" on the air.