Lisa Salters, the veteran ABC/ESPN sideline reporter and staple of the networks’ NBA coverage, missed Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday as her mother battles health problems.
In her absence, play-by-play announcer Mike Breen issued a touching message to Salters and her mother.
‘We are thinking of our dear friend and colleague, Lisa Salters,’ the Hall-of-Fame announcer said during the Thunder’s Game 2 win over the visiting Pacers on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
‘Lisa’s mom has been dealing with some serious health issues for a while now, so we want to send our love to Lisa and her mom.
‘Although we’ve never met her mom, we owe her a debt of gratitude for giving us the gift of Lisa Salters, who is the teammate everyone in our business should strive to have,’ Breen added.
Salters has been a tremendous asset for WBAL-TV in Baltimore and ESPN, covering everything from the OJ Simpson murder trial to Olympic and World Cup coverage. But it’s in the NBA where she’s become most recognized.
Lisa Salters is a veteran ABC/ESPN sideline reporter and staple of the networks’ NBA coverage
ESPN announcers (from left) Richard Jefferson, Doris Burke and Mike Breen seen in Game 2
Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White missed a game for personal reasons this week as her partner Lisa Salters’ mother continues to battle health issues
There had been some curiosity about Salters’ absence before Breen’s announcement as fans noticed the former Penn State guard was missing from ABC’s Game 2 broadcast.
Just days earlier, Salters’ partner and Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White missed a game due to ‘personal reasons.’
‘Lisa Salters and Stephanie White both skipping work for personal reasons,’ conservative sports media personality Jason Whitlock wrote on X. ‘I’ll be interested to hear the explanation.’
That explanation now appears to be related to the health of Salters’ mother – something Whitlock’s followers suspected before Breen’s announcement.
‘It’s probably family related and if I were to guess involves a parent,’ one person wrote on X in response to Whitlock. ‘I’m positive they have very good reason.’
A native of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Salters played basketball at Penn State, where she also got her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.
She also happens to be cousins with 1976 Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett.
