Richard Jefferson does not get nearly enough credit for being the funniest analyst in the ESPN booth. He proved it again Thursday night with a line aimed squarely at himself.
Jefferson was on the call for Game 2 between the Knicks and Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden alongside Mike Breen. In the second quarter, Cavs star Donovan Mitchell was whistled for a foul on a shot attempt by Knicks guard Miles McBride. Cleveland challenged the call, arguing Mitchell got all ball.
The replay confirmed they were right. The block was clean. Jefferson, deadpan on the broadcast, said the now-famous line.
“That’s as clean as my bald head.”
Mike Breen lost it. The internet lost it. Jefferson, who has rocked the shaved head look his entire career and into retirement, knew exactly what he was doing. He delivered it dry, he did not chase the laugh, and he moved on like it was nothing. That is comedy.
The clip from the NBA on ESPN account hit a million views by morning. It is the kind of moment broadcasters chase for years and rarely land.
The challenge was successful for Cleveland, and they got possession back due to the imminent change. But that was the only good news of the night for the Cavs. They lost 109-93 and now trail the series 0-2 heading back to Cleveland.
Jefferson, 45, has carved out one of the best post-playing careers in the league. After 17 NBA seasons and a championship ring with the 2016 Cavaliers, he has settled into a role where he can be both insightful and unhinged on the same possession. His chemistry with the rest of the ESPN crew has been the highlight of plenty of broadcasts this postseason.
The bald head bit was not even his first masterpiece on TV. Last year he roasted Kendrick Perkins on the air in a way that became its own viral moment. Jefferson treats the broadcast booth the way he treated the court. He is not the loudest voice, but when he gets a clean look, he never misses.
For Cleveland, the laughs end there. The Cavs are now in serious trouble. Donovan Mitchell has done all he can, but the Knicks defense has been suffocating, the role players are stepping up, and Madison Square Garden is operating at full volume.
The series shifts back to Cleveland for Game 3, but a 0-2 hole with both losses coming at home is the kind of thing that ends seasons. The Knicks have not been to the NBA Finals since 1999. They are two wins away.
Richard Jefferson can roast his own head all he wants. The Knicks are roasting the Cavaliers on the court, and there is no replay challenge that can fix that.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
