Hey all – Steve here.
Marv Albert is a household name for several different reasons, but let’s stick to him being one of the premier voices in the NBA. I was lucky enough to grow up with Marv calling Knicks games and that’s when they were good. I have Mike Breen now, but the Knicks have been bad over the last 20 yrs for the most part. In my mind, there is no other voice in the history of the NBA that is more associated with the NBA – it counts and the foul! I mean you can reel off a ton of different sayings/quotes from Albert.
He started in radio in 1963, but my first memories of him are from the ’80s and ’90s. He’s going to be turning 80 years young and he has really done it all – basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, football, and boxing. He has called 13 different NBA Finals and 25 All-Star games on NBC and Turner. Unfortunately for me (and many Knicks fans), Albert’s calls really became synonymous with Michael Jordan and all of his success. I only wish he could have made the final call on a Knicks championship in the ’90s – I mean I would have just taken 1994. It’s OJ’s fault.
Best wishes to Marv on his retirement and thank you for all of the fond memories while watching the Knicks (and then other teams in the future.