Is it me, or are a lot of NBA players – both past and present – getting either a ton of flak or love from media analysts? No matter how great a player he was in the game of basketball, there’s no way to tell if he could have survived a different era or not.
There are too many unfiltered voices on TV that may start out innocent and then become a full-scale debate among fans and the media. That’s where the NBA is currently right now. Instead of celebrating one’s accomplishments, the league media hastily finds some weird narratives to bring a player down.
But not everybody is spewing gibberish, though. There are still voices and opinions from multiple media members that openly credit a player when credit is due. For the fun of it, here are the five best NBA analysts on TV right now and five who are always talking nonsense.
Who are the best and the worst NBA analysts on TV right now?
Best: Richard Jefferson
Hate him or love him, Jefferson, a former player who had a 17-year career in the NBA, is one of the good ones, believe it or not. While most NBA analysts often focus on comparing eras, Jefferson has celebrated both past and current players.
Jefferson may have some bias towards some current stars, but he mostly corrects himself whenever he thinks that his comments might have gone too far. Ever since he joined ESPN in 2019, listening to his takes has offered many basketball fans a different outlook on the game, especially on how it is played at the NBA level.
He’s on a goofier side, too, which is why he’s loved by most basketball fans.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NBA stories via Google! Follow Us
Worst: Doris Burke
A quick scroll on multiple social media platforms, especially X.com, and you’d easily spot a ton of Doris Burke haters in the world. It’s important to note that she did not get to be a color commentator without knowledge about the game. A lot of people don’t know that Burke does have an extensive basketball background, playing for the Providence Friars in the late 80s.
However, many of her basketball takes on live TV have been misses. This doesn’t allure her to basketball fans because she obviously plays favorites whenever she’s commentating. Burke is quick to praise her preferred team or player while quickly downplaying others.
Her basketball takes are somehow shallow compared to those of her peers. You can often hear Burke gush over a superstar’s move for a few minutes rather than commentating the game from a non-biased view.
Best: Kevin Harlan
“It’s off to Leonard, defended by Simmons…is this the dagger? OOOHH! GAME! SERIES! TORONTO HAS WON!”
Pretty sure that you’ve heard that line more than a hundred times before. That phrase is one of the most famous lines in NBA history. Harlan is animated whenever he calls games. As one of the most beloved NBA analysts/announcers in the league today, he is well-known for keeping basketball-related stuff fair and without a hint of bias. He calls it the way he sees it, often praising players from both sides of the ball and never taking sides.
Can we please get him to call all the most important games of each season?
Worst: Kendrick Perkins
Big ol’ Perkins has a lot more haters than admirers as an NBA analyst. Nearly all of his takes are misses. Social media peeps often liken him to an old uncle at a family barbeque who blabbers about the good old days of basketball and completely discredits how the game is played today. Why ESPN ever gave him a mic is anybody’s guess.
One of his worst hot takes on live TV is that he’s the Nikola Jokic stopper. Kobe Bryant allegedly said that Perkins was a very good defender during his heyday. Can you believe that? A guy who averaged 1.2 blocks per game and 0.3 steals per game in his 14-year career stands a chance to limit the production of a three-time MVP? This is Jokic we’re talking about here, not Kwame Brown.
C’mon Perk. Don’t ever use Kobe’s name to justify your game. You won a championship as the 7th or 8th-best player on a loaded ‘08 Celtics team. That whole 2008 Cs squad truly knows how to squeeze every bit of juice out of the lone title they won together.
Best: Inside the NBA
Why name just one if we could choose four in a single take? Inside the NBA is one of the most popular basketball shows on television. The basketball takes of Ernie Johnson Jr., Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley are absolute cinema.
There are no filters on their takes, just pure goofiness and a ton of personal observations that will either have you scratching your head or clapping your hands in agreement.
Their segments are funny and memorable. Since three out of the four guys played in the NBA, you can bet that their analysis is either on point or flat out horrendous. There’s no in-between. They are on the lighter side of basketball, if we are being honest with it.
Don’t ever change, Chuck, Shaq, Ernie, and Kenny.
Worst: Jay Williams
After the Mavs won the 2025 NBA Lottery, Williams quickly suggested on live television that Dallas should consider trading the presumptive number one overall pick, Cooper Flagg, to pair another superstar with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.
How insensitive can Williams get, especially considering that the entire Mavs fan base is still in disbelief that GM Nico Harrison traded away Luka Doncic just a few months ago. That’s a horrible take, Mr. Williams. If Harrison heeds Williams’s advice, you can expect that Mavs fans will be livid. Would you want an entire fan base to revolt?
Such a bad take for one of the NBA’s most recognizable analysts.
Best: Mike Breen
“BANG! BANG!”
The double “BANG” is unique to Mike Breen, one of the NBA’s most beloved analysts and color commentators. Breen’s wit and word vomit are exciting to hear for most basketball fans. He knows when to deliver quirky lines and when to tone it down.
Breen doesn’t choose sides. He will openly praise or criticize players, whether they make good plays or not. To be honest, both Mike Breen and Kevin Harlan are loved by NBA fans.
They are not biased in their calls, and fans are completely clueless about which teams they are secretly supporting. It’s just good ol’ commentating that we all could relate to.
Worst: Skip Bayless
Listening to Skip Bayless is downright dreadful. His basketball takes are mostly awful, and his one-sided beef with LeBron James is a source of ridicule from basketball fans worldwide. If you are a fan of the NBA, it might be best if you totally skip Skip’s takes. It’s that bad.
Oh…did you ever see then-Mavericks owner Mark Cuban school Skip on a basketball debate on live television? That clip will tell you all about Bayless’s incompetent knowledge of the game.
He’s an NBA analyst who has no actual merit to be on screen. Why are you still beefing with LeBron, Skip? Time to tone it down.
Best: Stan Van Gundy
As a former NBA coach, Stan Van Gundy offers many good takes on how he sees basketball on a personal level. He may not have succeeded well in coaching compared to his brother, Jeff, but Stan knows when and how to deliver his lines to keep audiences at home engaged.
His expertise and basketball insight as a color commentator and an NBA analyst are usually spot on. He knows how to break down plays and is often praised for understanding the game at a professional capacity. Listening to Van Gundy on air as a basketball fan can enhance your knowledge about the game.
That’s what we’re looking for from an NBA analyst.
Worst: Stephen A. Smith
There’s no doubt that Stephen A. Smith is entertaining, but he’s arguably one of the worst NBA analysts out there. Have you seen the video where LeBron James confronted Smith at a game? That’s a bad look for him, but somehow, Smith tries to downplay the incident and makes LBJ the villain.
After boasting his basketball skills on live TV, fans have dug up his old college stats, which were predictably awful. He’s no basketball expert but continues to pose as one. That’s why he’s popular, though. Smith makes a bold claim without the necessary merit to back it up, and the next thing you know, it’s all over the news. He makes his living off of bad takes.
Who can blame him? He makes millions out of it.
