Earlier in the week, ESPN presented a prime time broadcast of a matchup between the two teams with the most wins in the NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers ended up defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, extending their winning streak to 11 consecutive games and adding to the overall win total. Mike Breen, who delivered the play-by-play call of the matchup, recently appeared on the Dan Patrick Show where he divulged that the matchup felt like a potential preview of the NBA Finals. Breen also utilized his signature “Bang!” call on a three-point shot from Donovan Mitchell late in the fourth quarter that extended the Cavaliers’ lead to seven points.
The game averaged 1.87 million viewers on Wednesday night, indicative of a 20% proliferation from the comparable game last year, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. ESPN finished first in prime time television in several key demographics, including persons under 50 and persons and males aged 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. Moreover, the game peaked with an audience of 2.5 million viewers on the network. On Thursday morning, Patrick asked Breen how often he was stopped by people and asked to exclaim “Bang!”
“When I go into arenas, it’s all the time, and I take it as a compliment and I’m flattered like you wouldn’t believe that the people say that, but when the kids start shoving the phone in your face and they’re yelling, ‘Say ‘Bang!’ Say ‘Bang!’,’ sometimes it gets a little much,” Breen explained. “But again, I’m so flattered by it that this one word has been so good to me.”
There are times when Breen will oblige with the request but say the word in a less pronounced, understated manner. After games, he has told people that he lost his voice and is unable to say it. Patrick then followed up by asking what would constitute a double bang call, something Breen had done only eight times in his career entering the 2024-25 NBA season.
“There’s no formula,” Breen said. “Yeah, it’s strictly off the flow of the game, what’s going on and, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable.’ It really just comes out. I wish I had a better answer, I’m sorry. You know what? Next time we’re on, I’m going to come up with a better answer.”
Breen conveyed that he learned former Boston Celtics radio play-by-play announcer Johnny Most used the “Bang!” call during games. He was informed as such by Most’s son, Jamie, and concurrently decided to dedicate one of his calls to Most during a Celtics game thereafter. Breen elaborated on the situation when Patrick asked if he had copyright over the call and T-shirts.
“Back in the day, if you weren’t in that town, you didn’t know or listen really to the radio voices of other teams,” Breen said. “Now you could listen to entire broadcasts of other teams no matter where you are, but I didn’t know it at the time.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
