NBA sideline reporter Lisa Salters is expected back for Game 5 of the ongoing NBA Finals in Oklahoma City on Monday night after she and her partner, Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White, both took time off due to a family illness.
Jorge Sedano has been filling in for Salters, the beloved ESPN contributor and on-air partner to the announcing trio of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson.
In her absence, play-by-play announcer Mike Breen issued a touching message to Salters and her mother, who has been battling health problems.
‘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 June 8 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.
ESPN reporter Lisa Salters looks on during warmups before a December 17 game in Milwaukee
Further details on the health of Salters’ mother have not been revealed.
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.
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.’
Fever coach Stephanie White (left) and Salters (right) have been together since about 2016
White and Salters have been romantically involved since at least 2016, according to multiple reports.
The longtime partners raise a blended family, sharing four sons – White’s three biological children, Landon, 13, and twins Aiden and Avery, 11, from a previous marriage, and Salters’ adopted son, Samuel, 11.
However, despite their lengthy relationship, some social media users were stunned to learn of their romance.
‘Learning Lisa Salters is actually in a relationship to Stephanie White was kinda mind blowing for me,’ one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Meanwhile, another asked: ‘Lisa Salters is married to Stephanie White? #ThingsImjustfindingout.’
