Mike Breen has been calling the NBA Finals for the last 21 years. That’s slightly fewer years than he has spent as the local television play-by-play voice of the New York Knicks. For the first time in Breen’s career, those two jobs will intersect on the NBA Finals stage as the Knicks return to the championship round for the first time since 1999.
For as long as I’ve worked in sports media, there has been one consistent complaint from sports fans when it comes to national broadcasts. Fans almost always believe there is a bias against their team on the national call. While no broadcaster has ever provided proof or admitted to that notion, the perception continues to persist. Expect it to resurface during the NBA Finals.
However, Breen is a professional. He’s been the voice of the Finals for more than two decades. He’s also served as ESPN/ABC’s lead NBA broadcaster for just as long, including during playoff series involving the Knicks. The four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the most recent example.
With the Knicks returning to the Finals comes added expectations from fans and especially from those in sports media. While criticism of Breen’s performance is rare, it will likely surface in the coming weeks. Still, Breen is no stranger to the role. He understands the added spotlight that comes with being the voice of the NBA Finals.
That spotlight grows even brighter when the team he covers every season is involved.
Adapting for “Bias”
So, the question becomes whether Breen will alter his approach in any way to cater to the expected criticism of bias. Would it be a mistake for Breen to approach this Finals differently than he has in previous years?
Perhaps the best example I can provide comes from someone else currently working within ESPN’s walls.
Joe Buck was on the call for FOX Sports in 2006 when the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers to win their first World Series since 1982. The 2006 Fall Classic marked the eleventh World Series Buck called in his career. He would ultimately call twenty-four.
However, the 2006 series marked the second time Buck called a Cardinals World Series. Just two years earlier, the Boston Red Sox erased the “Curse of the Bambino” by defeating St. Louis.
Buck is a St. Louis native who grew up idolizing his father, Jack Buck, who called Cardinals games for decades. He followed in his father’s footsteps into the broadcast booth while also becoming FOX’s national voice for baseball.
Years after delivering the final call of the Cardinals’ 2006 championship, Buck admitted he regretted changing his approach. In a 2024 interview, Buck acknowledged that he overthought the moment and adjusted too much in an effort to eliminate any perception of bias.
“I hear them win the 2006 World Series. My voice is so flat and so monotone and so not excited because I’m trying to prove to everybody in Detroit I’m not rooting for the Cardinals,” said Buck via the Nothing Left podcast. “Look, here’s the most boring call ever to end a World Series. It was a good learning moment for me because I heard it back. I was like, ‘Man, that’s just not fair. That’s not fair to fans in St. Louis.”
Buck said he took the bait. He bought into the idea that viewers were simply waiting for a moment to accuse him of bias.
“I don’t think Twitter was around in 2006, but it got in my head,” explained Buck. “I’m sad that it did because it was the Cardinal’s first World Series in over two decades and the guy calling it on TV who grew up rooting for the Cardinals went so far the other way that it’s just not a good call.”
If lessons can be learned from prior experience, Mike Breen should pay attention to the one his ESPN colleague shared.
Meeting the Moment
The audience tuning into the NBA Finals doesn’t need Breen to become someone different for two weeks in June. Fans don’t need him forcing neutrality to satisfy social media critics waiting to dissect every inflection or signature “Bang!” call.
They need the same broadcaster who has earned the trust of basketball fans for more than two decades.
That’s what made Buck’s reflection years later so powerful. In trying too hard to avoid criticism, he lost the authenticity of the moment. Moments are why fans remember great broadcasters in the first place.
Breen has spent a lifetime building credibility as one of the best play-by-play announcers in sports. That credibility wasn’t built because he sounded robotic or detached. It was built because he consistently delivered the emotion, energy, and gravity that the biggest games deserve.
The Knicks reaching the Finals doesn’t change that responsibility. If anything, it reinforces it.
Fans may still complain. Some will inevitably hear bias no matter what comes through their television speakers. That’s part of modern sports discourse. However, the worst thing Breen could do would be to let outside noise alter the style and instincts that got him to this stage in the first place.
The Finals are supposed to sound big. The emotions should feel real. And if the Knicks happen to win a championship with Mike Breen on the call, the moment should sound every bit as memorable as the journey that led there.
Win or lose.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
