Mike Breen

Michael Breen (born May 22, 1961) is an American play-by-play sports commentator. He has been the lead announcer for NBA games on ABC and ESPN since 2006, including the NBA Finals. He is also the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen previously called NFL regular season games for both ''NFL on Fox'' and '' NFL on NBC'', as well as New York Giants preseason games.

Biography

Early life

Breen was raised in Yonkers, New York, and attended St. Paul the Apostle Catholic grammar school. He is a 1979 graduate of Salesian High School, and a 1983 graduate of Fordham University.

Basketball

Breen started doing play-by-play for the Marist College Red Foxes basketball team in 1985. From 1991 to 1997 he worked with the Knicks as a radio announcer for WFAN. For the 1997–98 season, Breen was promoted to television play-by-play for the Knicks, as Marv Albert was fired from MSG Network following his infamous sex scandal. Upon Albert's return in 1999, he became his backup on MSG Network and continued as the lead announcer on WFAN. In 2004 he became the lead Knicks play-by-play following Albert's second dismissal from the network.

For the 1998 NBA playoffs, Breen joined NBC as a backup play-by-play announcer, and he remained in that role until the end of the network's coverage of the league in 2002. He also did play-by-play for WNBA games during his tenure at NBC, most notably Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals when New York Liberty guard Teresa Weatherspoon made a half-court shot at the final buzzer to beat the Houston Comets. He joined ESPN as the number 3 announcer for the 2003–04 NBA season. In February 2006, with the departure of Al Michaels from the network, ABC announced that Breen would take over as the lead broadcaster for the NBA, including the NBA Finals. In the 2006–2007 season, he was part of the lead broadcast team with Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson as analysts, and the trio called games until Van Gundy and Jackson's dismissal from the network amid ESPN's layoffs in 2023.

Breen is known for yelling the word "BANG!" (or others such as "It's good!" or "Puts it in!") after a key shot is made, usually very late in the game. Some of his most famous calls include the following:

June 18, 2013 - As ABC's lead play-by-play commentator, Breen called Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. In the final seconds of regulation, Ray Allen hit a clutch three-pointer for the Heat to send the game to overtime. They would eventually go on to win in overtime and Game 7. This is widely considered to be one of the greatest shots in NBA history, considering the fact that if Allen had missed, the Spurs would have won the championship.

" James catches, puts up a 3. Won't go, rebound Bosh, back out to Allen, his three-pointer, BANG! TIE GAME WITH 5 SECONDS REMAINING!"

February 27, 2016 - Breen called the regular season game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder on television for ABC. when, in the final seconds of overtime, Warriors guard Stephen Curry hit a 38-foot, game winning three-point shot.

"They do have a timeout, decide not to use it, Curry, way downtown, BANG! BANG! OH, WHAT A SHOT FROM CURRY! WITH 6 TENTHS OF A SECOND REMAINING!"

June 19, 2016 - Breen called Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. With the game tied with less than two minutes remaining, Cavaliers' LeBron James blocked Warriors' Andre Iguodala's fastbreak layup. The Cavaliers went on to win the game and the championship by the final score of 93-89, ending Cleveland's 52-year major league championship drought. Since the Cavaliers also came back from a 3-1 deficit in this series, James's crucial block is known as one of the greatest defensive plays in NBA history.

"Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! OH, BLOCKED BY JAMES! LEBRON JAMES WITH THE REJECTION!"

When the Knicks made the 2011 NBA Playoffs, Breen did not call any of the games for MSG due to his involvement with ESPN and ABC; he did call Games 3 (with the MSG broadcasts handled by Kenny Albert) and 4 for ESPN and ABC, respectively.

Some of Breen's current and past broadcast partners were employed with the Knicks at one point. The list includes former Knicks head coaches Hubie Brown and Jeff Van Gundy, former Knicks players Mark Jackson and Walt Frazier, and former Knicks radio color announcer John Andariese. While working alongside Bill Walton on ESPN, Breen was on hand for the infamous Pacers–Pistons brawl on November 19, 2004. Two seasons later, Breen was on hand for the Knicks–Nuggets brawl with MSG Network on December 16, 2006. The former was detailed in ESPN's First Take talk show on The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick.

In addition, he was also the voice of the ''NBA Live'', beginning with '' NBA Elite 11'', alongside his usual ESPN partners Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. However, the series was canceled indefinitely. He did voice along with Van Gundy in the ''NBA Live'' series beginning with '' NBA Live 14'' through '' NBA Live 18''. Following ''NBA Live 18'', Breen and Van Gundy were replaced by Ed Cohen and Jay Williams.

Providing emphasis on how important to the basketball community Breen has been, on May 14, 2021, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was awarded the Curt Gowdy Media Award. These are two of the most prestigious accolades someone in this field can attain. When presented with the Curt Gowdy Media Award, Breen stated in his acceptance speech, “I’ve had this enormous privilege to call so many great moments in NBA history, but the best part, the best part, has always been the lifetime of friendships that the game has given me.”

In Game 7 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, as well as the first two games of the 2022 NBA Finals, Breen sat out of the broadcasting team due to a positive COVID-19 test, and was replaced by Mark Jones. Breen returned in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

In 2023, following a wave of layoffs which included his partners Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, Breen was the only remaining commentator in the lead broadcast team, with Doris Burke and former NBA coach Doc Rivers joining the lead team.

Olympics

Breen has announced in five Olympic Games during his career, one Winter Olympics and four Summer Olympics. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Breen called basketball, handling play-by-play for both the men and the women. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Breen called ski jumping. Breen served as a play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports coverage of men's and women's Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Radio

Breen has been a fixture on the radio as well. He began his professional radio career as a sportscaster on WNBC radio in the early 1980s, and frequently substituted for Dave Sims as host of "SportsNight" on the station. From 1988 to 2000, Breen did the sports segment on the WFAN and nationally syndicated '' Imus in the Morning'' talk/comedy radio show. Breen became noted for his deadpan delivery of false sports news, such as in the mid-1990s reporting that in the previous night's Mets game, " Félix Millán went 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored" (Millán retired in 1977).

Personal life

Breen resides on Long Island, New York, with his wife Rosanne and their three children. He is Catholic.

Career timeline

References

External links

Under the Radar with Mike Breen at NBA.COMMike Breen ESPN Biography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Mike
1961 births
Living people
American radio sports announcers
American television sports announcers
Catholics from New York (state)
College basketball announcers in the United States
ESPN people
Fordham University alumni
MSG Network people
NBA broadcasters
NFL announcers
New York Giants announcers
New York Knicks announcers
Olympic Games broadcasters
Sports Emmy Award winners
Television personalities from New York City
Women's National Basketball Association announcers
WFUV people