He was commonly known as “the voice of
basketball.” He was the soundtrack of the best moments of NBA squad that
represented the “Big Apple” first on radio and then for many years on
television. He was also the soundtrack for some of the games and moments for
the NBA on the national stage first for the “peacock” from the 1991-1997
seasons and 2000-2002, while also having a stint doing NFL play-by-play also
during the 1990s. The last leg of his incredible broadcasting career was with NBA
on TNT, that concluded in early July and brought an end to one of the most
distinguished sports broadcasting careers.
The final call for Naismith Memorial Basketball
Hall of Famer Marv Albert was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on TNT
between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, which the Bucks won 118-107 to
win the Eastern Conference title in six games and would go on to defeat the
Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals in six games.
It brought the conclusion to a career that
saw Albert, 80 born in Brooklyn, NY on June 12, 1941, be on the call for eight
Super Bowls; nine NBA Finals; seven Stanley Cup Finals; the Wimbledon Tennis
Championship for TNT with tennis legend Jim Courier and longtime tennis
commentator and HBO’s “Real Sports” Reporter Mary Carillo; co-host for reporter
for the 1986 and 1988 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series; and the lead play-by-play
man for The Dream Team’s run to the Gold Medal at 1992 Summer Olympics in
Barcelona, the first time NBA players participated in the Olympics.
Alongside him for his final NBA broadcast
was fellow Hall of Fame sharp-shooter of the Indiana Pacers Reggie Miller, who Albert
called some of his best moments of his postseason career from his 25-point
fourth quarter in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals to him scoring
eight points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals a
year later.
At the close of the Game 6 broadcast of
the East Finals, Miller, who done color commentating for Turner Sports for
15-plus years said in his close to Albert, who he often called during his
broadcast alongside the legend “Maverlous” that his final broadcast was “the
end of an era,” for the man who called some of Miller’s best games both in the
regular season and the postseason with the Pacers.
“There’s a lot of men and women who have
sat next to you, and you have treated everyone with utmost respect,” Miller
said to Albert, adding, “You’ve gifted the game of basketball with you voice.
Thank you, Marv.”
When asked by Miller what was going through Albert’s head knowing that this part of journey has come to a conclusion, Albert first thanked Miller for the kind thoughts that he shared. Then he said that with Game 6 of the East Finals winding down, “Well, this is it. My last broadcast, and all that’s going through my mind is that I have been fortunate to be doing this for 55 years doing what I love. Having a front row seat for so many of the iconic moments in sports history.”
Some of those moments were displayed in
photos during the close of Game 6 of the East Finals from Albert with one of
his first co-pilots at the beginning of his broadcasting career for WHN Marty Glickman;
to shooting hoops in a local park with Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J.” Erving;
his early days as the longtime play-by-play commentator for the New York Knicks,
with him interviewing Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins of Hawks and his brother in
former Knick Gerald Wilkins; a photo of him with NFL Hall of Famer Paul McGuire;
his appearance on The Johnny Carson Show; being honored by the New York Rangers;
and also a photo of him during a broadcast alongside his son Kenny; a photo before
an interview with the 44th President of the United States Barack
Obama; and a photo of Albert, Miller and former TNT color analyst Doug Collins
before a game shaking the hand of the late former NBA Commissioner from
1984-2014 David Stern; a photo of him alongside former NBA head coach with the
Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies Mike “The Czar”
Fratello, who Albert worked a lot with on broadcast with NBC from 1991-93; with
TNT and Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in the late 2000s, and Reggie’s
big sister in fellow Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller; a photo of Albert and Miller
with current head coach of the now four-time NBA champion Golden State
Warriors, with the last three coming under his lead Steve Kerr; and a photo of
Albert and Miller with soon to be Hall of Famer Chris Webber, the late great
sideline reporter for TNT Craig Sager and current reporter for “The Athletic”
David Aldridge.
Albert also gave thanks to those that he
worked alongside during his broadcasting career like Miller, who Albert called “a
Hall of Famer as a player, as a broadcaster, and as a person,” and to those
that work behind the scenes that are the best-of-best at their craft like
producer Tom Heitz, sports director Andrew Greathouse, statistician Brian
Taylor, the Chairman of Warner Media Jeff Zucker, and the host of TNT’s “Inside
the NBA” Ernie Johnson, NBA Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Charles
Barkley, and two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995
Kenny Smith, whose games were called on NBC by Albert, his co-pilot at NBC from
1993-1997 in former Orlando Magic head coach Matt Guokas, and Hall of Famer
Bill Walton, who now calls College Basketball for ESPN.
In fact, the Rockets second straight title
came against O’Neal and Dennis Scott of the Magic, who now work for Turner Sports.
Smith in the Game 1 of the 1995 Finals, which the Rockets won 120-118 in
overtime on June 7, 1995, hit a then NBA record seven three-pointers, including
one late in regulation that tied the score at 110-110.
He also co-piloted NBA games at NBC during
the 1992 and 1993 NBA Playoffs, including NBC’s broadcast of The Finals those
two postseasons alongside Hall of Famer and five-time NBA champion as a player
Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
During this past NBA postseason, Albert got
a chance to do broadcast from two familiar sites where he planted his flag as
one of the greatest sportscasters of all-time as well as be reunited with a
familiar colleague.
Albert and Fratello worked the NBA’s
Play-In Game between the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards on May 20.
Albert called Game 5 of the 2021 Playoffs First-Round
tilt between the Hawks and Knicks, his final call at Madison Square Garden,
where he did so many broadcasts first on radio and then on TV for MSG Network,
with many of those games alongside the late great John Andariese. He also had
some time to speak with former colleague with MSG Network in Knicks great and
current television color analyst for MSG Walt “Clyde” Frazier.
Along with calling Knicks games for many
years, Albert was the radio play-by-play man
for the NHL’s New York Rangers, which included calling their Stanley Cup-clinching
win in 1994. Albert called Rangers games up until the 1994-95 season.
While Albert might have been the most
recognizable sports voices in the history of broadcasting. He was not the only
one in his family to be brilliant on the sports broadcasting microphone.
Albert said to Johnson during an interview
about his legendary sports career “Play by Play: Marv Albert” that he grew as
he called a sport “fanatic,” playing everything from baseball, basketball, stoop
ball, and his brothers Al and Steve followed in his footsteps as sports “fanatics.”
Marv’s brother Al Albert, a graduate of
Ohio University began his broadcasting career with KOA and also KHOW radio and
KWGN-TV in Denver, CO. He also worked as a sports anchor for WNBC-TV in New
York City and was the voice of the then New York (now Brooklyn) Nets of the
American Basketball Association (ABA) and NHL’s New York Islanders.
For 21 years (1975-1996), Al Albert served
as the voice of the Denver Nuggets, and three years later was the play-by-play
man for the Indiana Pacers until 2007.
On Jan. 24, 1984, while working for USA
Network, Albert called the college hoops contest between Boston College Eagles versus
the Syracuse Orangemen, in what many Syracuse University fans call the greatest
game in the Carrier Dome ever.
With the score tied at 73-73, Syracuse’s
Sean Kerins, rebounded a missed free throw by the Eagles’ Martin Clark and
passed the ball to Pearl Washington, who took three steps and launched a half
court shot that went in at the buzzer and won the game for the Orangemen.
“Washington, two seconds, OHHH! ‘The Pear’
hits it ...at midcourt,” Albert said of the play.
That is a call Syracuse University nation calls
the greatest nine words in the school’s history.
Marv’s younger brother Steve had a very
well-rounded sports broadcasting career himself where he served as the
play-by-play commentator for the Nets, New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans),
Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns, where he retired from broadcasting
after the 2016-17 season. He also called games for the New York Mets, New York
Islanders, Rangers, and New York Jets. He also served as a sports anchor for
three of five major networks in New York with WCBS-TV, WNBC-TV, and WWOR-TV in
New Jersey.
For 17 years, Steve covered major boxing
matches for “Showtime Championship Boxing,” including the infamous bought
between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield in 1997.
Steve was inducted into the International Boxing
Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018.
“We all wanted to be players,” Steve said
of he and his brothers dreams of being pro sports athletes growing up. “We
realized we were too small. So, we did the next best thing, we became
announcers.”
Al recalled a story when Marv was a
teenager, he turned a 10 by 7 room in their family’s home then into a press
room.
The Albert brothers were so into being
announcers that they did commentary while they were eating their food.
Steve recalled one time did play-by-play
of their mother who brought a dish from the kitchen and Marv said, “OHHH! Here
comes the mashed potatoes.”
When it came to actually practicing actual
play-by-play during an actual sporting event, Steve said they would turn the
sound down on the television set and do play-by-play of a New York Yankees
contest to Marv’s tape recorder.
During this time, Albert tried to imitate
fellow Syracuse University alum Marty Glickman and the voice of New York sports
for the Yankees, Jets and WPIX-11 telecast of college basketball.
Albert, who was columnist then for the
Abraham Lincoln High School Log got to know Glickman well because when he was
in high school, Glickman would broadcast for the High School Football Game of
the Week alongside color commentator Elston Howard.
Albert through an appointment in the Lincoln
High Athletic Department to spend time with Glickman and the broadcast crew and
worked as what is now referred to as in the entertainment world as a gopher-the
person who got whatever was needed for a broadcast crew.
Glickman said once that he first got to know
Albert, who then at age 14 was a ball boy for the Knicks and asked him how he
become a sports announcer like him. Glickman coached Albert and taught him
everything he knew about being a great broadcaster.
Albert said it was Glickman who really set
the “terminology” for basketball that is used today. Jumper from the right corner,
left corner, top of the circle (now top of the key). When a player makes shots
that goes straight through the net, it is referred to as a “swish.”
While Albert said to Johnson that he did
not know what this time period learning from one of the best sports
broadcasters at that time would lead to. However, he did realize that he was in
a unique position and that he was going to be a sponger and soak up every bit
of knowledge he could.
That led to him getting his first of what
would be a legendary broadcasting career as Glickman’s fill in at WCBS Radio thanks
to the sports commentary experience Albert got during his collegiate days at
Syracuse.
Albert’s first game as a Knicks
broadcaster was Jan. 27, 1963, at the Boston Celtics, where he filled in for
Glickman who was involved in a Harness Racing convention in Paris, France and
could not get back to New York because of a snowstorm.
Al said that he and Marv “hustled” to Grand
Central Station, making the 11 p.m. train. They got into Boston, MA at 3 a.m.
Marv said to Johnson that he was not nervous
about broadcasting his first Knicks game, and that he had “confidence” in
himself that he was ready for this moment.
Steve said that he and his parents
gathered around their radio to hear his brother’s first broadcast as the Knicks’
play-by-play man.
“And I could remember even at that young
age realizing, ‘Nah. This wasn’t going to be his last broadcast.”
It wasn’t, and it was the start of a marriage
between the Albert and the Knicks that lasted for 37 years (1967-2004) first on
radio and then on television for the Madison Square Garden Network (MSG) before
Chairman of MSG and Cablevision James Dolan axed Albert after he was critical
of the Knicks abysmal play on-air in 2004.
To put into perspective how special the
marriage was between Knicks nation and Albert, he said that Knicks fans are so
knowledgeable about the game of basketball that when the Knicks played at MSG,
they would cheer a good screen to set up a player for an open jump shot.
After the Game 6 loss by the Hawks that ended
their magical carpet ride through 2021 Playoffs, many of the Hawks fans stayed
afterwards at State Farm Arena to salute Albert in his final broadcast of his 55
years as a sports television commentator.
In a chat with the “Inside the NBA” after
the game, when asked by Johnson about his future plans, Albert said that he
will be doing a little traveling with his wife Heather Faulkiner, leaving their
two pug dogs behind he said jokingly.
Albert also said that because of the
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, which put a halt on the 2019-20 season back on
Mar. 11, 2020, until it restarted in Orlando, FL in late July 2020 while it was
horrible experience for a lot of people, he saw it as a rehearsal for
retirement.
“And I kind of enjoyed myself,” Albert,
who sat out his broadcasting duties in the league’s restart back in 2020 said. “I
am a fan of social distancing. I enjoyed TV binging and working out. We weren’t
able to go to the kind of restaurants we [he and his wife] would usually go to
in New York. But we enjoyed ourselves, and I read a lot, and I think I won’t
have any problem, you know, filling the time.”
“All though once October and November
rolls around, I’m sure I will miss the fact that I’m, you know, not getting
ready to call games.”
Albert then went on to tell O’Neal, Smith,
and Barkley the privilege it has been for him to commentate so many highlights
of their games that he broadcasted in his career with the Knicks and NBC, and for
O’Neal with TNT. What Albert said that he respects the most is how all three
were “so gracious” by being interviewed pregame and postgame. Albert specifically
said how Barkley would sit for about an hour for a pregame and postgame chat.
Albert also said that Erving was just like
Barkley pregame and postgame sitting with reporters like Albert and local and
national media writers.
“I always admired that, and Charles did
the same,” Albert said about Barkley and Erving’s generosity of their time with
the press during their playing days.
Albert said once to a producer that worked
with him at NBC that Barkley “would be unbelievable on television.” The
producer said then that would be true if Barkley cuts out the foul language.
Barkley, Smith, and O’Neal in return also
expressed what Albert has meant to them as a broadcaster and a colleague at
TNT.
Barkley, whose been a part of the NBA
family both as a player and broadcaster now going into his 37th year,
said that Albert has been a “big part” of the NBA family, and how “everybody”
from the players, coaches, front office personnel of each team, the local and
national commentators has played a major role in the success of the NBA, which is
set to begin season No. 75.
That success Barkley said began in Albert’s
heyday with the Knicks, going on to Hall of Famers and legends Larry Bird and “Magic”
Johnson, who Barkley has said on many occasions are the two most important
people of “The Association” history, with no disrespect to the legends that
came before them like 13-time NBA champion Bill Russell, the late great fellow
Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlin, and the many others that came before them.
“ ‘Magic’ and Bird made the NBA what it is
today and Michael [Jordan] took it to another level, Kobe [Bryant], LeBron [James],
and Tim Duncan, and [Gregg] Popovich, and all those guys made it,” Barkley
said.
He added to that saying, “Thank you” to
Albert for making his life great for the last 36 years, adding “Thank you for
being part of our family, man. Thank you.”
O’Neal said there are two reasons that he
knew he was someone of relevance outside of his family. The first reason, which
O’Neal has said on many occasions was in 1989 when Johnson came to his home at that
time to interview him. The second one was when Albert said his name for the
first time at Madison Square Garden after making a baseline jumper.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” O’Neal
said in showing his respect to Albert. “You know, in this game of ours has
always been beautiful. But guys like you, Ernie, and Mike, you make it more
than it is with your golden voice. You’re definitely going to be missed. I
never thought this day would happen to where I wouldn’t be able to hear your
voice.”
“But I just want to say thank you for
saying my name. Thank you for helping me believe that I was a great player,
even though I wasn’t,” O’Neal added jokingly adding, “We love you and much
success, and we appreciate you brother.”
Before Albert said his name during his NBA
career, especially during his championships seasons with the Rockets which were
both broadcasted on NBC, Smith would listen to Albert calling games for the Knicks
growing up in New York, NY.
Smith said between Albert and longtime sports
anchor for WCBS 2 New York Warner Wolf who he emulated he got to Turner and TNT
beginning back in 1997. Smith added that when he listened to Albert do Knicks
broadcast at the start of his career on radio when Smith was six years old that
he made him laugh, cry, smile without
watching the game.
“My favorite rapper is the Notorious
B.I.G. [the late Christopher Wallace, a.k.a Big Smalls], and you could paint a
picture like he could or he tried like you I guess, paint a picture when you
weren’t there,” Smith said of when he listened to Albert on the radio. “I could
see everything happening. I can see the people walking up in the isles. That is
an unbelievable asset to have. That will be missed.”
Smith then told Albert that he was “the
best-of-the-best.” The broadcaster’s favorite broadcaster.” He also said that
Albert is the “litmus test” for what any play-by-play person could be.
When asked by Smith if the profession of
broadcasting is in good hands with him taking the headset off for the final
time, Albert answered, “definitely.”
Albert believes that because of the fact
that there are more opportunities to break into the tough business of
broadcasting because of the evolution of cable television and that there are so
many teams that are hiring announcers if you stand out as someone who can have
longevity in this field.
Albert said when he was coming up that was not the case. Now every team, especially in the four major North American professional sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB) has their games broadcasted on television or radio.
Johnson called Albert at the close of “Inside
the NBA” crew’s interview with their longtime colleague “the soundtrack” for
the NBA for over five decades, and the high number of generations of fans that
have grown up hearing Albert call not just an NBA game put a professional sporting
event.
Albert had an impact on a number of his broadcast
colleagues that he worked with at Turner as well as in the field in general.
Current play-by-play analyst for the
Knicks and the lead play-by-play man for NBA on ESPN/ABC, who was the radio
voice during Albert’s run as the play-by-play man for the Knicks in the 1990s
Mike Breen called Albert the “gold standard” for basketball play-by-play.
Hall of Famer and colleague at Turner Sports
Grant Hill said with the growth of how popular basketball became in our country
behind the growth and importance of television, it was Albert was one of those
voices that “played a role” in telling those stories on the field or court of
play.
When Hall of Famer Willis Reed came on the
court of Madison Square Garden for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, a 113-99 win
by the Knicks for their first ever NBA title, Albert calls of that moment was, “Here
come Willis. And the crowd is going wild.”
“I never heard the crowd at that decibel level,”
Albert said of the reaction when Reed came onto “The Garden” floor. “It’s to me
one of the biggest moments that I have had the pleasure being able to do because
Willis played. It was very inspirational.”
Turner Sports play-by-play commentator Kevin
Harlan, who is also has been the play-by-play man for the Minnesota Timberwolves
as well as for the NFL on CBS said that Albert’s voice “the record of the NBA.”
“Marv’s voice and presence is as much a
part of the NBA’s success story as all the great Hall of Fame players that he
has called,” Harlan added.
Comedian, actor and loyal fan of the Los
Angeles Clippers as well as a fan of the Knicks Billy Crystal said Albert as a
broadcaster was a “painter.”
“He as a painter. He would take you to the
stadium,” Crystal added. “He would paint the picture for you.”
Longtime play-by-play man for the Tri-State’s
other squad the Brooklyn (formerly New Jersey, formerly New York) Nets Ian
Eagle said that Marv’s voice was “unique.”
One of Albert’s signature calls during an
NBA game happened when a player made a shot at a key point in the game by
saying simply “Yes!”
When a player scored and got fouled,
Albert would say, “Yes! And it counts!”
“It’s simple. Yet, it was perfect,” Eagle
added.
Albert told Johnson in an interview about
his legendary career for TNT called “Play by Play: Marv Albert that his famed “Yes!”
happened by accident. When he played three-on-three ball in the school yard in
Manhattan Beach, NY one of Albert’s friends would always say “Yes!” when he
made a shot.
Albert added that it was an intimation of
a former referee that Albert described as very colorful the late Sid Borgia,
who had all kinds of theatrics, particularly when a basket was good and a foul
took place he would say, “Yes! And it counts!”
Albert said he began using what would be
one of his trademark calls during a game in a Knicks’ game against the 76ers at
home when Dick Barnett one of the stars of their 1970 title team hit one of his
patent fallback baby jumpers.
“It just seemed to fit,” Albert said. “And
I found people were throwing it back at me, and players would say it, you know
if I went to a practice…One of those things that just happened to catch on.”
When a player made an exceptional play
like Jordan did in Game 2 of the 1991 Finals where he it a reverse layup coming
from right to left, Albert said, “Oh! A spectacular move by Michael Jordan.”
Albert told Johnson that was his favorite
call of all-time, which Fratello who was on the call with Albert that night
said he could see the play happen, and that he got “very excited about it.”
Another exciting moment that Jordan
provided that was called by Albert and Fratello was “The Shrug” contest in Game
2 of the 1992 NBA Finals versus the Portland Trail Blazers where Jordan nailed
six first half three-pointers. Albert’s call when Jordan nailed his sixth
triple over the outstretched hand of the late Clifford Robinson, “Here’s Jordan
for three. Yes!” He followed it up by saying after Jordan shrugged his arms, “Did
you see that look? Michael indicating, he can’t believe it.”
Albert that he came out early in pregame
to practice where all he did was shoot from three-point range.
It is something Fratello said that he and
Albert “still debate” to this day of what Jordan did from long range in that
contest in the 1992 NBA Finals.
“Michael was looking over at me,” Fratello
said of that moment, “and to this day, Marv can’t get past that moment.”
Albert in recalling that moment said that
Fratello will say to this day that Jordan was acknowledging him when he made
that sixth three-pointer.
Other plays Albert recalls with great joy
include the game-winning three-pointer by now Lakers’ four-time Kia MVP and
four-time NBA champion LeBron James in Game 2 the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals
for the Cleveland Cavaliers versus the Orlando Magic.
The play began with an inbounds pass from
then guard Mo Williams and Albert then said, “Gets it to LeBron. For three for
the win. Yes! LeBron James at the buzzer. A miraculous shot!”
Another favorite call of Albert’s was the
famed baseline lefthanded dunk by Knicks’ All-Star guard John Starks in the
closing seconds of Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals on NBC between
the Knicks and the Bulls at MSG by guard John .
“Starks. Yes! What a move by Starks,”
Albert said.
Albert also had signature call for when a
player hit a long three-pointer by saying, “From way downtown!”
He used that call in the aforementioned final
call at MSG in Game 5 of the First-Round this past spring’s NBA Playoffs between
the Hawks and Knicks, when Marv said on Trae Young’s long three-pointer to seal
the 103-89 win and the series, “Young fires from way downtown and takes a bow!”
Albert was also distinguished himself
particularly during the final leg of his broadcasting career with TNT by
announcing at the start of each broadcast the weather report for the game that evening
or during the late afternoon if the game, mainly during the postseason if a
game took place.
Albert would start in describing the
weather outside using words like balmy or beautiful saying the temperature and the
part of the day it was and the state and arena the game was taking place.
“Just hearing your voice on a game told
everybody out there, ‘this is big,’” Johnson said of the kind of impact Albert
had on pro sports. “So, well done. And thanks for letting us be your teammates,
man. It’s been an honor. There will never be another like Marv Albert.”
Albert echoed those same sentiments saying
to Johnson, O’Neal, Smith, and Barkley that it has been his honor to call the “Inside
the NBA” crew his teammates, who he called “funny, informational, crazy at
times.” But said “Inside the NBA” is “the best sports show on television.”
“I will be an ardent fan forever as I
watch you guys as the season opens up again next year,” Albert said.
Along with being well known to the many of
the players past and present that Albert called games for in his great and long
career, he also gained loved from many well-known people from the aforementioned
Billy Crystal; the second wife of former President Donald Trump Marla Maples,
who shook hands with Albert before a game in the 1994 NBA Finals at Madison Square
Garden between the Rockets and Knicks; rapper, actor, and sports fan Snoop Dogg;
and Academy Award-Winning Director and longtime avid Knicks fan Spike Lee.
Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin
Broadus, Jr. said that Albert’s calling of a game is similar to “rapping,” which
can be engaging and makes you feel like you are on beat with him.
Legendary rapper Chuck D, a fellow New
York native said that it was Albert’s intonations during his broadcast was a
style that he coped to rap.
Former colleague at NBC Sports colleague
Bob Costas, who was the lead play-by-play basketball commentator for NBC in
place of Albert from 1997-2000 said that Albert’s voice and natural rhythm are in
concert of what a “well played” NBA game is like.
Another of Albert’s great qualities was
his ability to bring humor to each game that he broadcasted and was as Crystal
said very “whitey” about it.
One particular broadcast that Albert put
that whit on display was in the previously mentioned Game 5 of the 1994 East
Finals between the Pacers and Knicks on NBC when he pointed out Miller’s animated
back-and-forth with Lee as he was lighting up the Knicks for 25 fourth quarter
points.
During one the animated discussions
between Miller and Lee, Albert pointed out during that, “I don’t think Spike realizes
that he’s not in the game.”
That ability to be sarcastic that now
Coach Kerr pointed out how Albert and Kerr bonded during their time together as
broadcaster partners at TNT in the middle of the 2000s.
That ability to connect through humor is
how Albert earned an appearance on “Sesame Street,” which he called the work he
did on that show sarcastically his “best to date.”
In fact, Albert became such a popular
figure in pop culture, he made 53 appearances on former CBS late-night talk
show host host David Letterman’s show for NBC and CBS, where he would bring
with him clips of sports bloopers and outstanding plays that he narrated that
were called the “Albert Achievement Awards.” The music accompaniment to those
bloopers was the 1914 ragtime musical composition by Euday L. Bowman, “12th
Street Rag.”
“It would really be a hit with people
responding to it,” Albert said of his bit with Letterman, whose studio while he
was at NBA was right across the hall from Albert. “So, I started doing it, and
it just happen to catch on.”
Albert also appeared in many movies as
well, with the most recent being 2015s “Trainwreck,” which starred Amy Schumer,
Bill Hader, John Cena, Matthew Broderick, and the Lakers’ LeBron James.
“We had many takes I must say with my
acting,” Albert said of his role on “Trainwreck.” “I was basically playing
myself.”
Another movie that Albert appeared in was
Crystal’s 1995 film “Forget Paris,” that he started in, co-wrote as well as
directed.
Crystal said that Albert was a “little nervous”
in the beginning of filming, which Crystal said was “not quite what he wanted.”
When asked by Crystal what the issue was,
and Albert said that he was “a little nervous.”
Crystal said that he just wanted Albert to
be his natural self like he was when calling a basketball game, to which Albert
said, “That’s what I’m nervous about.”
One of the things that Albert said to
Johnson that he did to pass the time during the early days of the COVID-19
Pandemic that he set records for reading books, binge watching shows, working
out, and watching movies.
“The Pandemic to me was like a rehearsal
for retirement, actually,” he said to Johnson.
Albert said a role where he had to really
know his lines was his appearance on Season 1, Episode 18 “Recovering Pessimist”
of longtime comedian Ray Romano’s show “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
When Ramono’s character’s (Ray Barone’s)
wife Deborah, played by Patricia Heaton is introduced to Albert, she shows her
excitement by saying his famed call, “Yes!”
Albert responded by saying sarcastically, “Like
I’ve never heard that before.”
When it comes to capsuling all that Albert
has done as a sports broadcaster from basketball, football, baseball, and the
Olympics, when asked by Johnson was each of those special in their unique way,
Albert said that he feels “incredibly fortunate” that he was able to be a particular
moment at a particular time.
During his initial time with NBC Sports Albert
was a doing play-by-play for the NFL and some boxing broadcast. When Senior
Advisor for NBC Universal Sports and Olympics Dick Ebersol made the deal to get
the contract to broadcast NBA games, Albert said he “could not believe” that it
happened when Ebersol called him to give him the news. They also got the deal
to televise MLB games, which led to them calling the World Series as well.
“So, I think good luck good fortune has a
lot to do with what events and announcers have the privilege of being able to
do,” Albert said.
July 3, 2021, in Game 6 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals on TNT was the conclusion to the sports broadcasting career of Marv Albert, who for five-and-a-half decades painted a picture of action on the hardwood, gridiron, ice and on the tennis surface that made you felt you were right there witnessing it, even though you were watching it from your television set or listening to it on your radio device at the start of his career.
He had a voice that became the soundtrack
to us witnessing Hall of Famers Willis Reed, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Michael
Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler Shaquille
O’Neal, and the late Kobe Bryant,” become NBA champions. He was the soundtrack for
Team USA in 1992 and 1996 capturing Gold at the Olympics. He was the voice of
when the Knicks won both their titles in 1970 and 1973, and all the countless
great moments and playoff heartbreaks from the late 1960s to the early 2000s.
Along the way, Albert earned a level of
respect from the athletes he broadcasted as well as those that in the business
as well as those that watched his brilliance on the broadcast headset.
When Albert exited Madison Square Garden after
Game 5 of First-Round loss the Knicks suffered versus the Hawks, Knicks fans
greeted him outside of MSG chanting, “Thank you Marv! Thank you, Marv!”
When asked by Johnson what told him at age
80 this was the time to retire? Albert said that reaching “55 years” of sports
broadcasting was what made him say it is time retire.
When comes to reaching 80, Albert said
that “80 is the new 79,” which got a chuckle out of Johnson.
Johnson also asked him what Albert wanted
his legacy to be for the next generation of folks that want to be in position
to be as great a broadcaster as he was? Albert said that he wants people to say
that was someone, who “worked very hard at his craft.”
“That he loved it, and if he could start
all over again, he would,” Albert added.
The broadcasting legacy will not end with
Marv, Al, and Steve Albert. It will continue with Marv’s son Kenny, whose parents gave him a tape
recorder for his fifth birthday to practice his broadcasting is now the only
sports broadcaster who does play-by-play commentary for all four of the major
pro sports in the U.S. and Canada, being well known for his work the NFL on FOX;
is the substitute play-by-play man for Knicks games for MSG; and does
play-by-play for Rangers on WEPN 1050 ESPN radio.
“I think Marv will always be remembered as
among the tiny handful of truly great play-by-play announcers,” Costas said. “But
to be as distinctive as Marv has been, that sets him apart.”
Breen echoed those same sentiments saying
that Albert “will always be the greatest basketball play-by-play voice of
all-time.”
Longtime golf commentator and NFL play-by-play
commentator for CBS Sports Jim Nantz called Albert’s career “legendary,” and
that it is one of the “great careers in the history of the medium.”
Eagle added, “It the end of an era. But
for a lot of us, it is the finality of something that was much bigger.”
Information and quotations are courtesy of
6/23/2021 8 p.m. “TNT: NBA Tip-Off,” presented by Carmax with Ernie Johnson,
Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 6/25/2021 7:30 p.m. “Play
by Play: Marv Albert,” with Ernie Johnson on TNT; 7/3/2021 11 p.m. “Inside the
NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley,
and Shaquille O’Neal; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marv_Albert;
https://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Steve_Albert;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Albert_(sportsbroadcaster);
https://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Albert;
https://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Mike_Fratello#Return_to_TNT;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Glickman;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Body_Loves_Raymond#Characters#Episodes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump.
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