Mike Breen | |
|---|---|
 Breen in 2023 | |
| Born | Michael Breen (1961-05-22)May 22, 1961 (age 64) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Fordham University |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Notable credits |
|
| Title | Sportscaster |
| Spouse | Rosanne Breen |
| Children | 3 |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Sports | |
Michael Breen (born May 22, 1961) is an Americanplay-by-playsports commentator. He has been the lead announcer forNBA games onABC andESPN since 2006, including theNBA Finals. He is also the lead announcer forNew York Knicks games on theMSG Network. Breen previously calledNFL regular season games for bothNFL on Fox andNFL on NBC, as well asNew York Giants preseason games.
Breen was raised inYonkers, New York, and attended St. Paul the Apostle Catholic grammar school. He is a 1979 graduate ofSalesian High School, and a 1983 graduate ofFordham University.[3]
Breen started doing play-by-play for theMarist College Red Foxes basketball team in 1985. From 1991 to 1997 he worked with the Knicks as a radio announcer forWFAN. For the 1997–98 season, Breen was promoted to television play-by-play for the Knicks, asMarv Albert was fired fromMSG 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 the1998 NBA playoffs, Breen joinedNBC 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 forWNBA games during his tenure at NBC, most notably Game 2 of the1999 WNBA Finals whenNew York Liberty guardTeresa Weatherspoon made a half-court shot at the final buzzer to beat theHouston Comets. He joinedESPN as the number 3 announcer for the2003–04 NBA season. InFebruary 2006, with the departure ofAl Michaels from the network,ABC announced that Breen would take over as the lead broadcaster for the NBA, including theNBA Finals. In the 2006–2007 season, he was part of the lead broadcast team withJeff Van Gundy andMark 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 - AsABC's lead play-by-play commentator, Breen called Game 6 of theNBA Finals between theSan Antonio Spurs and theMiami 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.[4]
"James catches, puts up a 3. Won't go, reboundBosh, back out to Allen, his three-pointer, BANG! TIE GAME WITH 5 SECONDS REMAINING!"[5]
February 27, 2016 - Breen called the regular season game between theGolden State Warriors and theOklahoma City Thunder on television for ABC. when, in the final seconds of overtime, Warriors guardStephen 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!"[6]
June 19, 2016 - Breen called Game 7 of the2016 NBA Finals between theCleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. With the game tied with less than two minutes remaining, Cavaliers' LeBron Jamesblocked 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's52-year major league championship drought. Since the Cavaliers alsocame 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.[7]
"Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! OH, BLOCKED BY JAMES! LEBRON JAMES WITH THE REJECTION!"[8]
When the Knicks made the2011 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 byKenny 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 coachesHubie Brown andJeff Van Gundy, former Knicks players Mark Jackson andWalt Frazier, and former Knicks radio color announcerJohn Andariese. While working alongsideBill Walton on ESPN, Breen was on hand forthe infamous Pacers–Pistons brawl on November 19, 2004. Two seasons later, Breen was on hand for theKnicks–Nuggets brawl with MSG Network on December 16, 2006.[9][10] The former was detailed in ESPN'sFirst Take talk show on The Old Man and The Three podcast w/JJ Redick.[11]
In addition, he was also the voice of theNBA Live, beginning withNBA 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 theNBA Live series beginning withNBA Live 14 throughNBA Live 18. FollowingNBA Live 18, Breen and Van Gundy were replaced byEd Cohen andJay Williams.
Providing emphasis on how important to the basketball community Breen has been, on May 14, 2021, he was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was awarded theCurt 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.”[12]
In Game 7 of the2022 Eastern Conference Finals, as well as the first two games of the2022 NBA Finals, Breen sat out of the broadcasting team due to a positive COVID-19 test, and was replaced byMark Jones.[13] Breen returned in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.[14][15]
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, withDoris Burke and former NBA coachDoc Rivers joining the lead team.[16]
Breen has announced in fiveOlympic Games during his career, oneWinter Olympics and fourSummer Olympics. At the1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and the2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Breen calledbasketball, handling play-by-play for both the men and the women. At the2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Breen calledski jumping. Breen served as a play-by-play announcer forNBC Sports coverage of men's and women'sBasketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[17]
Breen has been a fixture on the radio as well. He began his professional radio career as a sportscaster onWNBC radio in the early 1980s, and frequently substituted forDave Sims as host of "SportsNight" on the station. From 1988 to 2000, Breen did the sports segment on theWFAN and nationally syndicatedImus in the Morning talk/comedy radio show. Breen became noted for hisdeadpan delivery of false sports news, such as in the mid-1990s reporting that in the previous night'sMets game, "Félix Millán went 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored" (Millán retired in 1977).
Breen resides onLong Island,New York, with his wife Rosanne and their three children.[citation needed] He isCatholic.[18]
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1990 | NBA on TNT | Play-by-play (fill in) | TNT |
| 1991–present | MSG Network | Play-by-play (Lead on radio, 1991-97, 99-04) (Lead on TV, 1997-99, 04-present) | MSG Network |
| 1994–1996 | NFL on Fox | Play-by-play | Fox |
| 1997 | NFL on NBC | NBC | |
| 1997–2002 | NBA on NBC | ||
| 1999–2001 | WNBA on NBC | Play-by-play (lead) | |
| 2006–present | NBA on ABC/ESPN | ABC/ESPN |
| Preceded by | Play-by-play announcer,NBA Finals 2006–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer,NBA on ABC 2006–present | Incumbent |
Links to related articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
