Mike Breen had a chance to call last year’s Eastern Conference finals, even though the series was on TNT.
The longtime Knicks play-by-play announcer on MSG Network has been a prominent fixture in the NBA as the lead play-by-play caller on ESPN.
But last year, TNT’s Kevin Harlan offered Breen a chance to call the Knicks ECF series against the Pacers despite Breen’s status with the Worldwide Leader.
Breen explained the situation with The Post’s Dexter Henry on a recent episode of “New York Got Game.”
“We had the West and TNT had the East,” Breen recalled, citing that he’d be calling the series between the Thunder and Timberwolves. “Kevin Harlan, the great Kevin Harlan, who is a dear friend, they’re calling the Knicks-Pacers [series].”
Breen continued: “He calls me couple of days before the series and he says, ‘You know what?’ He goes on, ‘You’ve been waiting almost three decades for the Knicks to be in a conference final because it was the first in 25.’ He goes, ‘I want you to call the games for TNT. I’m going to go to my bosses. I’m going to tell them you should do it, and I’ll go do the West for ESPN.’”
Breen, when asked by Henry, confirmed that Harlan was serious.
“‘I know my bosses would love to have you, you deserve it,’” Breen remembered. “‘This is the team you’ve followed all this, you deserve it.’ And he goes, ‘”And even if ESPN doesn’t want to use me, and they want to use one of their announcers, whether it was Dave Pasch or Mark Jones, I’m fine, I’ll sit it out.’ That’s the kind of man Kevin Harlan is. I was so touched by that.”
Breen added that he thought about it overnight, and Harlan called him the next day, but acknowledged they both decided it might not have been the best for their employers, ESPN and TNT, respectively.
