LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today, at NBA All-Star Weekend, longtime NBA photographer Andy Bernstein and ESPN basketball analyst Doris Burke are the 2018 Curt Gowdy Media Award recipients. The two will be acknowledged for their contributions to basketball media during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement events Sept. 6-8 in Springfield, Massachusetts – the birthplace of basketball.
The Curt Gowdy Media Award is named in honor of the late Curt Gowdy, a legendary sports broadcaster and former Hall of Fame Board member and President. This prestigious award is presented annually to members of the electronic and print media whose longtime efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball.
For 35 years, Andrew Bernstein’s creative eye has captured the National Basketball Association, its grand events and its world-renowned athletes. Born in Brooklyn, Bernstein developed his interest and talent in photography as a teenager. His visual gifts were recognized quite early, as his initial portfolio earned him a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and scholarship to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. Earning his degree in 1981, Bernstein pursued his first and true love, sports photography, working as a studio assistant and a part-time assistant for Sports Illustrated. Simultaneously pursuing his craft as a freelancer, he earned his living photographing hockey, basketball, football and baseball games in the Los Angeles area.
Developing connections as he honed his craft, Bernstein serendipitously came to the attention of NBA personnel while sitting in the PR office of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982. The resultant conversation with NBA Properties put him in line for his first NBA gig, the 1983 NBA All-Star game at The Forum. Since that chance encounter, Bernstein has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the best in the world of sports photography. Blessed with extraordinary technical knowledge, he also possesses the rare ability to see a world others cannot, and capture it on film. His thoughtful and respectful treatment of the athletes he photographs has earned their trust and admiration. This, in turn, has allowed Bernstein unique access to athletes and athletic events resulting in photographs that resonate with vibrant emotions and explosive action.
Over the course of his career Bernstein has become the official photographer for most of Los Angeles’ professional sports franchises, including the Clippers, Dodgers, Kings and Lakers. He also covered and photographed the United States Olympic basketball teams in 1992, 1996, and 2000. His company, Bernstein Associates, Inc., has an extensive list of clients including Nike, adidas, Pepsi, Paramount Pictures and American Express.
As a basketball standout at Providence College who held seven records upon graduation, Doris Burke went on to spend two seasons as an assistant coach before finding her true calling as a basketball analyst. Ahead of the 2017-18 NBA season, ESPN named Doris Burke a full-time ESPN NBA game analyst, making her the first woman named to this role. Across nearly three decades, she has been a top commentator on several significant ESPN properties, including the NBA, women’s and men’s college basketball and the WNBA. She also serves as the lead ESPN NBA sideline reporter for NBA playoff games and the NBA Finals on ABC.
From 1990-2000, Burke began her career as an analyst on regional coverage of BIG EAST and Atlantic-10 women’s basketball on the New England Sports Network (NESN). She concurrently worked as a play-by-play commentator for Providence College women’s basketball on WICE/WNPW Radio (1990-97) and Providence College men’s basketball with WPRO Radio (1992-95). She also served as a women’s basketball analyst with the Penn State Television Network (1993-95), ECAC men’s and women’s weekly telecasts (1995-97), the MAAC Women’s Basketball Network (1997-99), and the Atlantic-10 Men’s Basketball Network (1999-2001). Burke was a women’s college basketball analyst for CBS Sports (1998-2001) and has long been an analyst for the WNBA’s New York Liberty on MSG Network. Burke is recognized as the first woman to call a BIG EAST men’s basketball game on television and a Knicks radio and television broadcast (2000).
In addition to her work on camera, Burke has been frequent columnist for Basketball Times Magazine and Eastern Basketball Magazine since 2001, as well as a contributing writer for the Center for Sports Parenting. In 2000, Burke was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame, and she received an honorary doctorate from the school in 2005. She has been the recipient of several awards and honors, including the 2017 WISE Women of the Year award, an annual prestigious honor that recognizes women who have made a significant impact on the business of sports as decided by Women in Sports and Events.
Previous Curt Gowdy Media Award Winners:
Year – Print/Electronic
1990 – Dick Herbert/Curt Gowdy
1991 – Dave Dorr/Marty Glickman
1992 – Sam Goldaper/Chick Hearn
1993 – Leonard Lewin/Johnny Most
1994 – Leonard Koppett/Cawood Ledford
1995 – Bob Hammel/Dick Enberg
1996 – Bob Hentzen/Billy Packer
1997 – Bob Ryan/Marv Albert
1998 – Larry Donald & Dick Weiss/Dick Vitale
1999 – Smith Barrier/Bob Costas
2000 – Dave Kindred/Hubie Brown
2001 – Curry Kirkpatrick/Dick Stockton
2002 – Jim O’Connell/Jim Nantz
2003 – Sid Hartman/Hot Rod Hundley
2004 – Phil Jasner/Max Falkenstien
2005 – Jack McCallum/Bill Campbell
2006 – Mark Heisler/Bill Raftery
2007 – Malcolm Moran/Al McCoy
2008 – David DuPree/Bob Wolff
2009 – Peter Vecsey/Doug Collins
2010 – Jackie MacMullan/Joe Tait
2011 – Alexander Wolff/Jim Durham
2012 – Sam Smith/Bill Schonely
2013 – John Feinstein/Eddie Doucette
2014 – Joe Gilmartin/John Andariese
2015 – Rich Clarkson/Woody Durham
2016 – David Aldridge/Jay Bilas
2017 – Harvey Araton/Craig Sager
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was invented, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate and high school, for both men and women on the global stage.
