Legendary NBA broadcaster Hubie Brown will call his final game on Sunday. The 91-year old will be on the call for a Philadelphia 76ers-Milwaukee Bucks game at 2 p.m. ET on ABC. He’ll end his broadcasting career in the same place where he started his NBA coaching career, on the sidelines in Milwaukee.
Speaking to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, Brown reflected on his lengthy career in basketball and how, even at his advanced age, he still prepares as if he were a young broadcaster in search of their next big break.
“I always try to see both teams twice within seven days before I do the game,” Brown told Deitsch. “That’s just to see who is starting, substitutions, the latest on who’s injured, who might be coming back et cetera. Then, naturally, the strategy, especially in the last five minutes on how the coaches will approach side out-of-bounds plays and under out-of-bounds plays. Then, once the action starts, whether they run under the pressure either offensively or defensively. The day before the game you always have the latest statistics on every facet of the game.”
It’s an impressive routine for any broadcaster, much less one who is over 90-years old. But Brown doesn’t want Sunday’s game to be about him. He wants it to be about the teams.
“This is a big game,” Brown said. “When you say Philadelphia and Milwaukee, if you were talking before the season started, you’d say the two of them have a chance to challenge Boston. But because of the injuries, we have no idea who’s going to start for both teams. When we go on air, it’s going to be interesting.
“There’s a lot more for this game than me just saying goodbye.”
Surely, though, Hubie Brown must realize how much this game will mean to fans, who have watched him coach and broadcast NBA games for 50 years now.
“When I look back, it’s been the fastest 50 years of being in the NBA as a coach and as a television person,” Brown said.
He’ll run it back one last time alongside play-by-play announcer Mike Breen on Sunday.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.