Joe Buck advised Mike Breen on calling Knicks in NBA Finals

Joe Buck regrets his call of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2006 World Series win, and he didn’t want Mike Breen to make the same mistake.

Breen has called Knicks games for more than three decades, and he’s been their lead voice since 1997. Additionally, Breen has now called 21 consecutive NBA Finals for ESPN and ABC dating back to June 2006. But for most of his run, the thought of the Knicks playing in the championship series was an unattainable fantasy. That changed, however, when Leon Rose began building a team around Jalen Brunson.

This season, with the Knicks in the Finals, and their lead voice on the call for ABC, Breen had the opportunity to do something that few announcers have been able to do by calling their team winning a championship series on national television.

“It’s over! It’s over! Knick fans, this is not a dream! Your long, long wait has ended! Go ahead and cry! After 53 years, the Knicks are finally NBA champions once again!” Breen said as the Knicks closed out the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals.

It wasn’t the best championship call in NBA history, but it was for Knicks fans. And according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, Breen’s call was crafted from conversations he had with Knicks fans and with Joe Buck. Like Breen with the Knicks, Buck is a Cardinals lifer. Buck grew up in the Cardinals booth and eventually succeeded his father, Jack Buck, as their primary play-by-play voice. But in the midst of calling 24 World Series for Fox, Buck called the Cardinals’ championship in 2006, and it remains one of the most regretful calls of his career.

Buck has since admitted he was so caught up in fans accusing him of Cardinals bias that he tempered his excitement, and it negatively affected his call. With Buck having this experience and regret, he reached out to Breen as he was preparing to call the 2026 NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs.

“Let it rip and do the New York fans justice, too,” Buck told Breen, according to The Athletic. “This is their moment, as well. So don’t be so ‘unbiased’ that you don’t get excited for the Knicks.”

“I fell into that trap,” Buck told The Athletic, referring to listening to critics before his 2006 call. “I didn’t want company. He was pitch perfect.”

Breen admitted that Buck’s advice was helpful leading into the NBA Finals. And Breen ultimately made his final call of this Knicks’ championship without worrying about accusations of holding Knicks bias. Some fans might believe there were times when Breen let his fandom show during the Finals. But hellbent on not letting that impact his final call, Breen met the moment for Knicks fans as they won their first championship in more than a half-century.