Knicks Announcer Mike Breen Got Very Emotional During Yesterday's Game As He Did His Best To Honor Kobe Bryant

Mike Breen had the call for yesterday's Knicks-Nets game and was tasked with the impossible of helping us at home grieve while he did as well. The game was so inconsequential, but the NBA decided to move on and play every game rather than postpone them. At first I thought it was a no brainer to cancel them, but after the fact I think if you asked Kobe Bryant he 100% would have wanted everyone to ball. It was a tough, tough day for everyone involved: players, coaches, announcers, fans etc. I mean the news was still so sudden and shocking I'm sure it was impossible to focus and try to put it off to the side for a few hours. Still, they played and the always fantastic Breen was on the call to guide us through. 

He opened the broadcast with a quick story of what happened when Yankees catcher Thurman Munson tragically died in a plane crash back in 1979. 

Breen referenced a sports cartoonist named Bill Gallo who put out this cartoon the next day. 

That perfectly summed up how we were and are still feeling. Breen got choked up telling this story and you could tell this was a brutal broadcast for him to get through. It was probably one of the hardest things he's ever done. Over the years he's met Kobe so many times through games at the Garden or ESPN/ABC games he's called over the years across the country. The iconic "BANG" calls he's had for Kobe are ingrained in the NBA's history forever. 

Later in the game he told a story about a cab driver who had to pull off to the side of the road when he discovered Breen knew who Kobe was. Just the fact that the cab driver was in the presence of a friend of Kobe's was enough to bring him to tears. That's the impact Kobe Bryant had on the world. That's how titanic of a figure he was. 

This is our generations Roberto Clemente, JFK, or John Lennon in terms of a shocking death that sends shockwaves all across the world. I appreciate each and every one of these stories. I cannot get enough of them. I'm hoping throughout the week, month, etc. that we get more and more that we did not know. It'll help us move on together and honor him. This still doesn't feel real. 

I'll leave you with some of Kobe's best moments at MSG.