As Tyler Murray was working the hockey and baseball play-by-play circuits coming up in the business, he always looked for some opportunities to call basketball games. When his fellow hockey announcers would be baffled by why he would try and add even more to his winter workload, he would always reply with, “I have to stay ready in case the Knicks ever need a guy. I want to stay fresh and keep the demo updated.”
A couple of weeks ago, MSG Networks made it official that Murray, 34, was the New York Knicks new radio play-by-play voice. He will partner with analyst Monica McNutt for the games which air on 880 ESPN New York. He takes over for Ed Cohen who held the job from 2017 until a medical condition involving his voice forced him to step away last season with Pat O’Keefe filling in.
Murray has most recently been the voice of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, known as the WooSox, and has over a dozen years’ experience in minor league baseball and just this year had the chance to call some games at the Major League level, filling in on Boston Red Sox games.
The story of how Murray got on the Knicks radar is one that involves something people have been telling young broadcasters forever: you never know who is listening.
In Murray’s case it was a UMass hockey game he was calling on ESPN+. Turns out, longtime Knicks television director Howie Singer went to UMass and when he doesn’t have his own game to work on, he likes to watch UMass hockey on ESPN+.
Knowing MSG Networks was looking for a new radio voice and being impressed with the announcer he heard on the hockey game, Murray was told Singer went to his boss and said, ‘Why don’t we give this guy a look and have him in for a meeting?’
Murray said next thing he knew, MSG Network’s Sr. Coordinating Producer Kevin Meininger was texting him to see if he wanted to come in for a meeting.
Murray said, “I grew up a diehard Knicks fan and still admittedly am and what a dream come true it would be and what a dream it was just to be in that room talking with Kevin about even the possibility of it.”
Murray would end up doing an audition with Knicks analyst Monica McNutt. He said the night before the audition was the NBA draft and as he was in his hotel room, he pops on the TV and sees McNutt talking to every draft pick right as their dream was coming true. Murray said it was “like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme where he’s pointing at the TV from his couch.” Murray said the next day during the audition about McNutt, “She was incredible. Made me feel right at home.”
The audition process involved candidates not knowing what game they’d be calling until an hour before they were to start. Murray found out his game was going to be Game 2 of the Knicks-Sixers series from the 2024 playoffs. Being a big Knicks fan, Murray knew what happened in that game and knew all about the backstory and finish. “I was pretty aware of it because it’s one of the craziest Knicks wins I’ve ever seen. So, I knew the game pretty well and I knew the Knicks as well as any team I’ve ever followed. So that kind of gave me confidence.”
Murray said he and McNutt called the first and last quarter of the game watching it on a big screen in the studio. When it ended, Murray said he was told very little, he got back in his car and drove home to New Hampshire.
“It was it was such a blur, almost an out of body experience. I kept thinking, ‘alright, if this goes well, you pretty much have everything you’ve ever wanted in your career, and if it doesn’t go well, being a Knicks fan is going to be a little bit different going forward.”
Alas, he finally got the call he had been waiting most of his life for. Meininger caught him as he was walking out of a WooSox game.
“Kevin said, ‘I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind the slight inconvenience of moving to New York and being our new radio voice for the New York Knicks?’ And I said, something along the lines of, ‘Are you serious? Just to confirm this is the radio voice of the New York Knicks?'”
He said they were both laughing when Meninger said the magic words, “Yes, you are our guy. There was certainly some tough competition. We had an unbelievable amount of interest and applicants in this job. But we’re so excited to have you join our team.”
Murray said his head was spinning. He said he was so excited and, “I remember having so much energy. I told Kevin, ‘I have an hour drive home, but I feel like I could run home right now.’ I was just wrapping my head around everything. It was great to share that with Kevin, I think he just liked my story of grinding for 12 years and having some success recently.
“For them to have discovered me in that way, I think they are legitimately and really excited to bring me on board. And I’m excited to work for Kevin as much as anything. Kevin’s been fantastic. So that was obviously a cool moment.”
It gets better.
Murray waited to get home to tell his wife, and they went out for a celebratory dinner. They were headed to Maine that weekend to see Tyler’s parents and share big news. That trip was already planned complete with big news, because the initial reason for the visit was to tell them they were going to be grandparents for the first time as Tyler and his wife are expecting their first child.
Murray said they let the baby news settle in for a bit before they broke the news that the setup for them as new grandparents may not be what they were expecting. Murray and his wife then announced they would be moving a bit further away to New York for his new job doing Knicks play-by-play.
“I don’t think they could quite process it all,” Murray said “They said, ‘that’s your number one dream job’ and I said, ‘yep, it somehow happened.'”
Murray said thus far he has been welcomed with open arms. He attended the NBA broadcast meetings and said, “So many great broadcasters came up and were so nice to me and were very welcoming of me to the league. A lot of people said things along the lines of, ‘you did it the right way, you paid your dues’ and it felt like people were especially happy for me.”
When asked about his style and what Knicks fans can expect to hear, he said, “I just want to be authentic. And I think a big part of the job is knowing the audience. As a Knicks fan, I’ve been the audience basically my entire life. So, I think what Knicks fans want are the facts. They don’t want hot takes or conjecture.
“I think what makes Mike Breen so great is that you can count on him for just reliable information. And I think the best play-by-play guys bring out the best in their analysts. Clyde Frazier is one of the absolute greatest entertainers on television in any format, and I think Monica McNutt is very much similar. I’m excited just to bring the best out of her, have a good rapport with her and have some fun during the games as well. But for me, it’s all about authenticity.”
Murray talks about bringing energy and meeting the moment more so than catchphrases and cliches.
“I want to say, ‘Knicks win’, I don’t need to have my special spin on it. I just want to bring the energy and give the information and kind of meet the moment without overdoing it.”
As for his first big full-time opportunity coming in the bright lights of New York City, Murray said, “It’s exciting to be in this market. It’s a demanding fan base and the broadcast legacy that the Knicks have on TV and radio, is something I’m excited to uphold. I’m excited to reach that standard. I’m much more excited to be a part of the big market as opposed to being intimidated by it.”
To younger broadcasters who may be learning about Tyler’s story and his climb up the ladder he says the message is simple, “The short version is you never know who is listening. I talk to a lot of younger broadcasters and now I’m going to be able to give them a more precise story and example to hopefully guide them because so many people have helped me out along the way.
“And I was told ‘you never know who is listening’, but there are plenty of games you do when you don’t think anybody’s listening, but now I have this example to share and I’m excited to reinforce that and hopefully it makes a difference for someone to keep up the grind.”
All the bus rides, all the games done by yourself, all the time wondering if the big break is ever going to come. It all paid off for Tyler Murray and he said he has had some great conversations with old friends recently who he has reminded exactly why he kept up with that basketball demo.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
