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Hall of Fame play-by-play voice Marv Albert plans to retire from broadcasting after announcing the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals on TNT, he announced Monday.
“My 55 years of broadcasting the NBA has just flown by, and I’ve been fortunate to work with so many wonderful and talented people,” Albert said. “Now, I’ll have the opportunity to hone my gardening skills and work on my ballroom dancing.”
Albert, 79, is perhaps the most iconic voice in NBA broadcasting history. He has been on national television calling NBA games in nearly every season since 1990, beginning with the NBA on NBC before transitioning to Turner Sports after NBC lost broadcast rights to the NBA in 2002.
“There is no voice more closely associated with NBA basketball than Marv Albert’s,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “My first memories of the NBA were of listening to Marv call a game with his signature style, iconic phrases and unparalleled passion. From his remarkable run as play-by-play announcer for the Knicks to his prominent national roles calling our marquee games on NBC and Turner Sports, Marv has been the soundtrack for basketball fans for nearly 60 years. We congratulate him on a Hall of Fame career that is simply unmatched.”
In addition to national broadcast games, Albert served as the New York Knicks’ lead play-by-play voice from 1967 to 2004. He also served as the play-by-play voice for Brooklyn Nets broadcasts from 2005 to 2011.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honored Albert with the Curt Gowdy Award in 1997, and he was named to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2014, and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame a year later.
Along with his work with the NBA, Albert also lent his voice to college basketball, boxing, NFL, NHL and MLB broadcasts throughout his illustrious career. A longtime friend of David Letterman, he made numerous appearances on the legendary host’s nighttime talk shows for NBC and CBS.
