Hall of Fame centers Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 70 and 56 career Finals games, respectively. Legendary Lakers forward LeBron James has played 55.
ESPN/ABC broadcasting icon Mike Breen, however, has surpassed them all.
Breen will call his landmark 100th Finals game Monday evening when the Nuggets and Heat battle in Game 5 in Colorado. The veteran announcer’s first Finals game came on June 8, 2006, a 90–80 Mavericks win over Miami in Dallas.
Before Breen, the longest streak any play-by-play announcer had accumulated calling Finals was nine years by Dick Stockton for CBS from 1982 to ’90. Breen’s streak has hit 18 years and counting.
To commemorate the occasion, one Twitter user posted a short compilation of some of Breen’s most memorable uses of his signature call, “BANG!”
Tonight will mark as the 100th Nba Finals game Mike Breen will Call tonight.
— 💫 (@ReavesWrld__) June 12, 2023
In appreciation of this legendary man here is his most iconic “BANG!” Calls of all time. pic.twitter.com/DzH5gt6shu
The video includes multiple century-defining NBA moments: Heat guard Ray Allen's game-saving shot in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals, Knicks guard Jeremy Lin's shocking buzzer-beater in Toronto in 2012, Warriors guard Stephen Curry's deep go-ahead three-pointer against the Thunder in 2016 and many more.
With Denver a win away from its first NBA title, an opportunity for Breen to author another chapter in his amazing story seems likely to present itself in the near future.
