ESPN’s Mike Breen on the Impact of Knicks’ Title on Team’s Past Greats

When the Knicks finally won it all, Mike Breen got back to his hotel room to find about 400 texts waiting. Most were from Knicks fans. But the people on his mind ran deeper than that.

The first was his father. Breen grew up one of six boys, in a house where sports wasn't optional and the family loved whatever team his dad rooted for. His father was a Marine and a construction worker, a tough guy Breen always thought was the strongest man in the world. The second strongest, in young Breen's mind, was Dave DeBusschere. That's the influence the Knicks had on him.

The joy now is sharing it with his own kids, all young adults at 34, 33, and 29, two boys and a girl who grew up watching a lot of bad basketball and love the Knicks anyway. His wife and daughter are Villanova grads, so the Nova Knicks hit especially hard in the Breen house.

Breen also reconnected with Walt Frazier, a friendship he calls one of the blessings of his life. He's never heard Clyde talk about another Knicks team with the reverence he has for this one. Frazier doesn't compare players to Willis Reed, his idol until the day Reed passed, but he says Brunson reminds him of Reed, the same silent-but-tough leadership. Frazier was more emotional than Breen expected.

So was Patrick Ewing. The Knicks have done a great job bringing Ewing back into the fold, using his counsel and letting him work with players, and after the game he was overcome. "I'm finally getting my ring," Ewing said, a line Breen couldn't hear without getting emotional himself. The photograph of Ewing holding the Larry O'Brien trophy next to Brunson, a kid Ewing has known since age two through his old teammate Rick Brunson, carried all of that respect. Breen noted how often there's a disconnect between how older and current players see the game, but the most important parts haven't changed, and both Frazier and Ewing recognize that Brunson honors what came before.

Then there was Marv Albert, the man who preceded Breen and a reason he fell in love with the profession. They'd been texting before the clinch. "It's Marv inside of me" when he calls a game, Breen said, crediting Albert's influence on his entire approach even without the iconic voice. He admitted a small regret: he told his longtime director, Howie Singer, that he planned to yell "Yes, and it counts" as a tribute, but the right play never came and it never came out. He thought too of Johnny Andariese and Al Trautwig, the people who were part of all those years.

The final connection was pure numerology. Red Holzman's 613 career wins hang in the rafters at Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks clinched on June 13. Breen had it ready to use, but Pete DeBusschere, Dave's son, texted him the same thing before the game. Dave's two sons, Dennis and Pete, had a favorite player in OG Anunoby, because the way he played and what he meant to the team mirrored their father.