Silver Tells: Knicks Voices Mike Breen, Walt Frazier Celebrate 25 Years on MSG Network
Anyone complaining about the New York Knicks' hardwood chemistry over the past quarter-century hasn't been listening or paying attention to the courtside seats.
The cusp of the court at Madison Square Garden has been home to Mike Breen and Walt "Clyde" Frazier, the Knicks' primary broadcasters for MSG Network. Monday marks the 25th anniversary of Breen and Frazier's first collaboration, the delayed opening to the NBA's shortened 1998-99 season.
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Though the Knicks fell by a 93-85 final to the Orlando Magic, basketball fans in both New York and beyond enjoyed a fine win to close out the millennium: Breen and Frazier have frequently been praised as one of the best local broadcasting tandems in professional sports, serving as both narration to some of the thrilling moments in recent Knicks history or as comforting voices during the hard times that populated the past 25 seasons.
The love and admiration bestowed by fans has translated to the duo themselves, as they disclosed to Peter Botte of the New York Post.
“His style is so unique," Breen said of Frazier. "But the thing, too, every game you listen, and I still do, I learn something. It’s amazing how this great Hall of Fame player has become this great Hall of Fame broadcaster. I think it’s one of the most remarkable things.”
“When you’re a professional player, you know there’s a limit. Sooner or later guys retire, 12 years, 14 years if you’re lucky,” Frazier said. “It was something new for me, I was enjoying it and then working with Mike, and liking to work with Mike, I never thought about the time sequence of it. But it doesn’t seem like 25 years.”
MSG Network will pay tribute to its lasting duo when the Knicks (32-18) face the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Both men have left undeniable marks on basketball broadcasting. Between his work with MSG and national broadcasts with ABC/ESPN, play-by-play man Breen has become well known for his signature calls of "Bang!" or "Puts it in!" in the new century. The color commentator Frazier, already renowned for his Hall of Fame career with the Knicks, has wooed fans with his flashy game day attire and poetic vocabulary ("Stylin' and profilin', dishing and swishing").
Prior to joining MSG, Breen and Frazier fostered their relationship through radio calls on WFAN, what was then the Knicks' flagship station. Both believed there was some special brewing from the get-go.
“Mike gave me an opportunity to articulate more than the normal color guy," Frazier noted. "The first time we got together, he goes, ‘Clyde, people want to hear what you have to say, man, so just say it. Don’t worry about the nuances, just say it and do your thing.’ That gave me a lot of confidence when he said that.”
"What he’s done, he’s made such a niche in his style, and he’s never wavered off the style," Breen lauded in turn. "When he first started doing the rhymes, he took some criticism. It wasn’t greeted with open arms, but he stayed with it and his vocabulary is just off the charts."
Fortunately for listeners in New York and abroad, the duo has no intention of severing ties any time soon: while Frazier has cut back on road games as promised, he told All Knicks in June that he intends to carry out his duties alongside Breen "all long as I can."
