First off, congratulations to Jon Lester who just tossed a no-hitter for the Red Sox against the Kansas City Royals.

As I watch game seven of the Western Conference semi-finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Hornets, I noticed that there is a nice chemistry between play-by-play voice Marv Albert and analyst Reggie Miller.

To be honest, starting with the studio show Inside the NBA and through the actual game broadcasts, I think TNT covers the NBA better than any other network.

But I digress.

Anyway, listening to Albert and Miller interact got me to thinking about my all-time favorite NBA announcing crews.

Keep in mind, this isn’t a list of the best or worst duos or trios ever. It is just a list of my Fab Five NBA broadcasting teams….in no particular order of preference.

1) Marv Albert and Mike Fratello (NBC & TNT) This team was at it’s peak in the early ‘90’s when the NBA was on NBC and the Bulls were coming into prominence. Funny and knowledgeable, Albert and “ The Czar of the Telestrator” made watching the game a very enjoyable experience.

2) Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy ( ABC & ESPN) Breen is a pro who calls a very good game and has fine sense of humor ( You need one to call Knicks games). Jackson and Van Gundy are a modern day version of Billy Packer and Al McGuire. Alas, with Jackson looking to become a head coach and Van Gundy probably returning the sidelines one day, this trio is not destined to last very long.

3) Brent Musburger, Rick Barry, Bill Russell, Hot Rod Hundley (CBS) Musburger could make getting a tooth pulled sound like an epic event. Barry was one of the best analysts ever. Russell and Hundley, along with Musburger, called the 1980 NBA Finals and did a very good job of it.

4) Mel Proctor and Phil Chenier (HTS) This duo made watching the Bullets--who were terrible--interesting. Proctor’s excitable style meshed well with Chenier’s calm and smooth delivery. Proctor was pretty funny too.

5) Jim Karvellas and Mike Riordan (WDCA channel 20) This was the duo that called the Bullets games in the late ‘70’s. Which meant they were calling the games when the Bullets won the NBA Championship. Karvellas had the trademark call of “Booolls-eye” after a made basket. Riordan was old-school and opinionated. They called game seven of the 1979 Eastern Conference Finals between the Bullets and Spurs which is still one of the best basketball games I ever had the pleasure of watching. 

If you have more you would like to add to the list, feel free. Send me an e-mail at bob@wnst.net

Have a good night.

BH