Marv Albert never tempered his Knicks criticism: ‘I didn’t feel I had to bite my tongue’

Marv Albert never felt pressure to mask any necessary criticism of the Knicks, although his criticisms ultimately led to his falling out with James Dolan and the team.

Mike Breen is the voice of the Knicks and was on the call for ESPN and ABC as they ended their 53-year championship drought, but Marv Albert will similarly always be known as the voice of the Knicks. Albert spent nearly five decades with the Knicks, calling arguably the most famous moment in franchise history: Willis Reed limping onto the court for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.

Breen now has his own iconic moment with the OG Anunoby tip-in to complete a historic 29-point comeback in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. But Breen had to endure some of the worst seasons in Knicks history to get there.

Albert joined The Dan Patrick Show Monday morning to discuss the Knicks breaking their championship drought. During the interview, Patrick asked Albert, “How often did you find yourself having to bite your tongue and not be critical of the Knicks” while working as their lead announcer.

“I was critical at times, I didn’t feel I had to bite my tongue,” Albert answered. “I always felt it was very important to tell what was happening, because people would see it. I mean, not to kill them, but I think you have to point out mistakes.”

Albert may have been critical at times, but he was never subjected to the level of putrid basketball that Breen called in recent decades. As Albert acknowledged, there weren’t many mistakes during the Red Holzman era. The iconic sportscaster endured a few down years before they drafted Patrick Ewing, but then went on a long streak of deep playoff runs until the early 2000s.

Shortly after trading Ewing away, the Knicks finished below .500 in three consecutive seasons, and Albert’s commentary during those years was enough to convince owner James Dolan not to renew his contract.

“Marv didn’t like the team. I basically felt he didn’t like the Knicks,” Dolan told WFAN in 2004. “I’ve asked him not to say they’re bad for the season, because why would anyone watch?”

Maybe Albert would have remained with the Knicks beyond 2004 if he bit his tongue. But even if he had, during those first few years after Ewing left, staying with the Knicks in the mid-2000s would have been no great gift, as the team stumbled through a nine-season stretch of finishing below .500.

Albert never publicly reconciled with Dolan after the Knicks owner decided not to renew his contract in 2004. In 2014, Albert famously advised Steve Kerr not to accept the Knicks’ head-coaching offer because of Dolan. And when Albert retired from broadcasting in 2021, Dolan’s Knicks opted to skip any sort of tribute or celebration.