The New York Knicks have perhaps the most iconic broadcast booth in the entire NBA consisting of play-by-play man Mike Breen and Knicks legendary point guard turned color commentator Walt Frazier. Ahead of the pairing’s 25th anniversary of their first MSG Network broadcast together, they detailed what it is that has made their on-air relationship work for all of these years.
The two first made their MSG Network on Feb. 5, 1999, a matchup between the Knicks and the Orlando Magic. All these years later, the two seemingly still very much enjoy working together.
In an interview with Peter Botte of the New York Post, both opened up about their chemistry on-air. Breen, in particular, spoke very fondly of working with Frazier, who just so happened to be one of his “childhood heroes.”
“For me, it was like, ‘Are you kidding me?'” said Breen. “There’s nothing I could ever possibly have dreamed of when I got the call to be the Knicks radio announcer. But then it turns out my partner is a guy who was one of my childhood heroes. I was petrified at first. He didn’t know it at the time. But I was so nervous… Here’s this Hall of Famer, I’m a young broadcaster and for him to bring me in and respect and treat me with such kindness gave me all the confidence in the world.”
Frazier was of course in a much different situation than Breen when the two started working together, an established NBA legend who could have easily given a young broadcaster like Breen the cold shoulder. However, he largely echoed Breen’s sentiments, detailing how happy he has been over the years to be working alongside Breen.
“When you’re a professional player, you know there’s a limit. Sooner or later guys retire, 12 years, 14 years if you’re lucky,” Frazier said. “It was something new for me, I was enjoying it and then working with Mike, and liking to work with Mike, I never thought about the time sequence of it. But it doesn’t seem like 25 years.
“When I first met Mike, I didn’t know anything about the adulation that he had for me. They had us do a simulation game at the Garden, and it was uncanny the chemistry we had, but Mike gave me an opportunity to articulate more than the normal color guy. The first time we got together, he goes, ‘Clyde, people want to hear what you have to say, man, so just say it. Don’t worry about the nuances, just say it and do your thing.’ That gave me a lot of confidence when he said that.”
Frazier has cut back on road games in recent years for MSG Networks. But he has detailed recently that he has no plans of calling it quits just yet. In fact, Frazier stated that he plans on working with Breen “as long as he can”.
The Knicks do not have a game on Monday, the actual anniversary of Breen and Frazier’s on-air partnership. But MSG will be honoring the anniversary “before, during, and after” Tuesday’s broadcast of the Knicks’ game against the Grizzlies, according to the New York Post.
