ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy and insider Adrian Wojnarowski did not broadcast Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors due to COVID-19, according to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand.
However, Van Gundy told Sopan Deb of the New York Times that he did not test positive for COVID-19. In fact, Van Gundy was not sure as to why he was held out from Game 1, saying his test was inconclusive and that his two subsequent rapid tests were both negative.
Van Gundy told the Times that he was no longer experiencing symptoms and hopes to return to the broadcast booth for Game 2 of the series on Sunday in San Francisco.
Mike Breen, the play-by-play announcer who missed Game 7 of the Celtics-Heat series after testing positive for COVID-19 last Sunday, also missed Thursday’s series opener. Mark Jones filled in for Breen and joined Mark Jackson to call Game 1, marking the first all-Black NBA Finals broadcast team.
Van Gundy, the former Knicks and Rockets head coach, has been an ESPN analyst since 2007. Wojnarowski has been with ESPN since 2017 after spending the last five years as the network’s chief NBA insider.
In addition to Van Gundy and Wojnarowski, ESPN reporter Kendra Andrews also tested positive for COVID-19 and missed Game 1. Andrews is the network’s beat reporter for the Warriors.
