{"id":423,"date":"2026-05-29T10:44:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=423"},"modified":"2026-05-29T10:44:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:44:29","slug":"the-nba-finals-are-a-reward-for-long-suffering-knicks-fans-and-this-broadcaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=423","title":{"rendered":"The NBA Finals are a reward for long-suffering Knicks fans \u2014 and this broadcaster"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When the NBA Finals tip off Wednesday, there will almost certainly be a who\u2019s who of long-suffering fans in attendance who have waited an agonizing 27 years to see the New York Knicks back on basketball\u2019s biggest stage. <\/p>\n

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One of them will even be in the broadcast booth.<\/p>\n

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ESPN\u2019s Mike Breen will be the play-by-play man for his record-extending 21st straight NBA Finals this year. And for the first time, the New York native will be calling the team he grew up rooting for in the championship round. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be lying if I didn\u2019t say there are emotions,\u201d Breen acknowledged to NBC News this week. <\/p>\n

In addition to his work for ESPN, Breen has called Knicks games locally for over 30 years. He began as the team\u2019s radio announcer in 1991, and after a brief stint as the lead play-by-play man later that decade, he took over the position for good in 2004. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just that I was a Knick fan since I was a kid, but I\u2019ve been broadcasting Knick games for over half my life,\u201d Breen said. \u201cSo, you know, when you see a team have a chance to do something they haven\u2019t done forever, there\u2019s certainly emotions there.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Breen is also well aware of the professional responsibility he has to the viewers at home and the team of people who produce the Finals broadcast. Breen has already called several Knicks games during the postseason, including their dominant sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.<\/p>\n

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While the morass of social media will always make it difficult to judge which announcers are actually liked or disliked, within the NBA community, it\u2019s hard to find anyone with something negative to say about Breen despite his ties to the Knicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite frankly, I learned from the best,\u201d Breen said. \u201cMarv Albert was the voice of the Knicks, and he did a lot of big Knick games against the Bulls and against the Heat and against the Pacers, and by watching him and seeing how he handled it, that\u2019s what influenced me, and that\u2019s how I learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albert, 84, was New York\u2019s lead play-by-play man from 1967 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2004. From 1990 to 2021, he was also the lead play-by-play voice for the NBA on NBC and the NBA on TNT. <\/p>\n

He was flattered to hear Breen still reveres him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate it, but he would have made it no matter what,\u201d Albert told NBC News. \u201cWith Mike, his play-by-play is superb, off the charts. Always has great rapport with his broadcast partners. He could actually ref a game in that he knows the rules so thoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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