Few on-air NBA personalities (if any) have been as visible as Craig Sager during his three-decade career as a Turner Sports sideline reporter. And yet, for all the games he's worked over the years, all the incandescent suits he's donned for the camera, Sager has never worked an NBA Finals broadcast.
That will change on Thursday, when Sager picks up a microphone and shares sideline duties with ESPN's Doris Burke for Game 6 between the Cavaliers and Warriors in Cleveland.
Despite being under contract with TNT, Sager was granted an exemption to work the game for ESPN.
"I'd like to thank Turner and ESPN for approaching me with this tremendous opportunity to be part of The Finals broadcast team," Sager said in a statement. "I've been watching the series very closely and, while I do not want to distract in any way from the event itself, I look forward to being in the building for what will be an incredibly exciting Game 6. The NBA community is a very special one and this is a great honor."
Sager has been battling acute myeloid leukemia on and off for over two years, having relapsed twice after his cancer went into remission. From the time of his first diagnosis in April of 2014, he's undergone two bone marrow transplants, 21 bone marrow biopsies, multiple blood transfusions, and more than 20 cycles of chemotherapy. His recovery was complicated at points by bouts of pneumonia, flu, and gout. He lost 50 pounds.
Through it all, he's maintained a seemingly impossible sense of optimism and resilience. He has continued working throughout this season, despite receiving a dire prognosis from doctors, and despite a dangerously low blood-platelet count that puts him at constant risk of mass bleeding. On Thursday, he'll get to be part of what may be the last NBA broadcast of the season.
"Craig is an iconic member of the NBA family who indelibly makes his mark on each and every broadcast," said John Wildhack, ESPN's executive vice president of production and programming, in the statement. "I know our entire team is delighted to work with Craig for Game 6. We all agree his professional reputation is second-to-none, though it's his personal reputation - that of class, selflessness and respect - which makes this even more special for our team. We hope that this will be a special night for Craig and for NBA fans. We are grateful for his interest and for the continued collaboration with our friends at Turner."
