At the most inopportune time of the season, ESPN/ABC NBA broadcaster Mike Breen tested positive for COVID-19. Breen tested positive just prior to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 29.
Breen missed Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals because of the positive test, and ABC called on veteran voice Mark Jones to fill in for the initial San Francisco leg of the championship series.
Jones appeared on Steiny & Guru on 95.7 The Game in the Bay Area on Tuesday and said he was taking his dogs to the vet when he got the call that he was needed. He told Matt Steinmetz and Daryle Johnson it was a real treat to get the opportunity.
"I was both flattered and honored to be able to sit in the chair that Mike Breen sits in during the NBA Finals at this time of the year," Jones said.
It sounded like at first that Jones was just on stand-by, but after Breen continued to test positive for COVID, the decision was made to go with Jones as the lead play-by-play voice on the telecasts. Jones said he was fully prepared either way.
"I had my charts and boards all ready to go just in case and ended up calling the game," he said. "So it was a real honor after 32 years at ESPN doing play-by-play and studio shows to be able to be the play-by-play guy on a real historic night really when you look at Mark Jackson and Lisa Salters, the first all-Black TV crew in a professional sports finals."
It's unclear whether Breen will be cleared for Wednesday's Game 3 in Boston, but ABC will be ready to go no matter what.
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