It looks like ESPN may just replace Doc Rivers on its lead NBA booth — and it could be with a talent who was still playing in the league three years ago.

JJ Redick, a former NBA veteran who played 15 years in the league, is the top candidate to replace Rivers and join Hall-of-Famers Mike Breen and Doris Burke on the network’s No. 1 NBA broadcast team, according to a report by The Athletic. Rivers abruptly left the duo a few weeks back after agreeing to a deal to coach the Milwaukee Bucks just 15 weeks after starting with the group.

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Rivers and Burke originally joined Breen in the summer after a massive shake-up in the network when it let go of analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, both of whom called over a decade’s worth of NBA Finals on ESPN and ABC.

Redick’s insertion into the lead team would culminate a swift rise onto the sports media scene for the 39-year-old. It started when he became the first active NBA player to host a podcast back in 2016. The Duke product’s show moved across several outlets through the years — including Yahoo! Sports and The Ringer — before he created ThreeFourTwo Productions to house what is now known as “The Old Man and The Three.”

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He announced his retirement from the NBA in September 2021, and a month later, signed with ESPN as an analyst. His role has expanded quickly with the network — rising in fame due to viral exchanges with the network darling Stephen A. Smith — and he was placed in the No. 2 NBA broadcasting booth this season alongside fellow NBA veteran Richard Jefferson and play-by-play caller Ryan Ruocco.

Beyond his burgeoning media career, Redick has admitted to receiving interest to coach in the league. He told sports journalist Pablo Torre in January that about “six to eight” teams have spoken with him about roles, including the Boston Celtics in 2022. Redick was also reportedly interviewed by the Toronto Raptors for a head coaching job in the 2023 off-season.

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