Knicks Voice Mike Breen Has COVID - OUT for NBA East Finals
Unfortunately, the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals will not go out with a "BANG!".
Per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Mike Breen will not be on the call for the decider between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The New York Knicks broadcaster has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be replaced by Mark Jones for Sunday night's semifinal closer in South Beach (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Despite his positive test, Breen is said to be "feeling fine", and "the hope is for him" to return to the mike for the NBA Finals' tip-off on Thursday night in San Francisco, where Sunday's winner will play the Golden State Warriors.
A Fordham alum and Yonkers native, Breen is in the midst of his third decade of calling NBA games. His first job came with the Knicks in 1992, when he served as the radio play-by-play man on WFAN and later succeeded Marv Albert on an interim and later full-time basis on MSG Network. His partnership with Walt "Clyde" Frazier has often been named one of the top local broadcasting tandems in the Association.
Breen has also been the television voice of ABC and ESPN's NBA Finals coverage since 2006. Former Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy and New York draft pick Mark Jackson have been paired with Breen since the following season in calling the Finals and other high-profile broadcast games on ABC and ESPN, a tenure only interrupted by Jackson's time as Golden State's head coach. Jackson and Van Gundy will remain paired with Jones on Sunday in Miami.
Inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in May 2021, Breen has been beloved by Knicks fans and has garnered a national following for his exuberance during big game situations. His catchphrases of "BANG!" and "Puts it in!" have become commonplace amongst fans nationwide.
