Jalen Brunson, the star guard of the New York Knicks, made a significant impact in the recent game against the Indiana Pacers.
His performance, particularly in the fourth quarter, prompted revered Knicks play-by-play commentator Mike Breen to make a statement that ESPN NBA analyst Zach Lowe referred to as “one of the great calls of his life.”
On the very night Brunson was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, he made a game-changing midrange jumper.
At the 5-minute mark of the fourth quarter, Madison Square Garden watched as Brunson put the Knicks ahead.
With the game’s pivot point in plain sight, Breen offered a telling remark that recorded the essence of Brunson’s display and the Knicks’ season.
Being a keen observer of the sport, Breen recognized this critical juncture. The game perhaps was not over then, but Breen understood the magnitude of the situation.
On a subsequent episode of The Lowe Post podcast, Lowe applauded the skill and significance of the call.
“Mike Breen with one of the great calls of his life, and I’m not being hyperbolic,” Lowe said.
Lowe provided a thorough analysis of Breen’s impactful comment, expressing how good it was.
“Jalen Brunson hits a mid-ranger to complete a comeback … Indiana calls timeout. The crowd is going bonkers because they just love this team, they love Brunson, they love what he stands for,” Lowe explained. “They love that he was a second-round pick. Dallas decided we’re not going to pay him this much money, and he proves all the doubters wrong. That’s such a New York thing. Crowd’s going crazy, and the shot goes in.
“And Mike Breen goes, ‘Jalen Brunson, born to play basketball!’ And it was just this succinct, perfect encapsulation of not only who Jalen Brunson is, which is like … a crafty, old-school basketball soul. Son of a player, son of a coach, all of that. And his own exuberance, Mike Breen, as someone who’s been around the Knicks his entire life, feeling like, ‘I can’t believe how good this g**-d*** team is.’”
This call, Lowe argued, merited a position in the annals of Breen’s impressive track record, referred to as the Breen pantheon.
Zach Lowe thinks this Jalen Brunson call deserves to be in the Mike Breen pantheon. ⬇️https://t.co/6rBhhXJtv1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 5, 2024
Even though the comment was made on MSG Networks, a local Knicks broadcaster, it carried as much weight as those Breen uttered on ESPN or ABC.
"JALEN BRUNSON, BORN TO PLAY BASKETBALL"
Mike Breen with an incredible call for an incredible win pic.twitter.com/InzQLYO5Vr
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) February 2, 2024
Lowe emphasized that the atmosphere and implications associated with Brunson’s critical shot, coupled with the timing and the clout of Breen’s comment, made it one for the archives.
Being a longstanding voice of the Knicks, Mike Breen has contributed immensely to the sport’s commentary.
His trademark observations have frequently amplified the thrill and drama in basketball
