The basketball industry has had some of the most renowned personalities as part of the commentator box, out of which some remain and some have created a name from scratch.
Chiney Ogwumike
The former WNBA All-Star is currently a full-time ESPN commentator. Her work role goes daily on college and professional basketball analysis for platforms like NBA Today, SportsCenter, First Take and Get Up, WNBA Countdown and NCAA Women’s Basketball studio shows, and NBA Countdown Wednesday editions. Before ESPN, Ogwumike worked as a basketball analyst for the Pac-12 Network and NBATV.
She gained her popularity during the coverage of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament along with Elle Duncan and Andraya Carter. She also covered the NCAA Women’s Final Four Special with Duncan, Carter, Carolyn Peck and Alyiah Boston. Over the years, she has been part of the College GameDay crew for the women’s basketball regular season.
Andraya Carter
Joined ESPN in 2018 as a game analyst and is also working on the SEC Network. In three years, she has become an important figure in ESPN’s basketball coverage.
She is currently the only female that covers basketball leagues like the NBA, WNBA, NCAAW and NCAAM. For three years, she has also worked as an analyst on Women’s College GameDay and became the first woman to work as an analyst for Men’s College GameDay in 2024.
She has been a recipient of several honorary achievements, such as the 2022 University of Tennessee Alumni Promise Award and NSMA’s Best Young Reporter. In 2023, she received the Dawn Staley Excellence in Broadcasting award.
Besides this, she was named in the University of Tennessee 40 under 40, The Athletic’s 40 Under 40: Rising Stars in Women’s Basketball, The Athletic’s 40 Under 40 in College Sports and The Athletic’s 20 for 20: Who’s Shaping the Future of Women’s Basketball.
In 2023 she was nominated for the Sports Emmy in the category of ‘Emerging On-Air Talent’.
Carolyn Peck
She is currently working for ESPN and SEC Network as an analyst for women’s college basketball and the WNBA. She joined ESPN back in 2001 and started working as a basketball analyst for college and professional tournaments, including men’s and women’s college basketball, the NBA and the WNBA, since 2007.
She was in the team with Elle Duncan, Andraya Carter, Chiney Ogwumike and Alyiah Boston working for the NCAA Women’s Final Four Special, followed by her appearance for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four.
Brenda VanLengen
A women’s college basketball commentator, Benda is an Emmy Award winner who has worked as an analyst since 1996 and a play-by-play announcer since 2010.
During basketball’s regular season, she covers events including the SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten conferences, and others.
She has analysed several games, including seven NCAA Division II National Championships and three NAIA National Championships, and also for the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars.
Doris Burke
A leading national NBA commentator and Hall of Fame inductee in broadcasting, Burke is the first female to give commentary for the NBA Finals in 2020 on ESPN Radio. She also did commentary during the first WNBA season in 1997 on radio.
As part of ESPN, she has worked with Robin Roberts, Ann Meyers Drysdale and Nancy Lieberman for WNBA and women’s college basketball broadcasts.
She is a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2018 by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.
