On Thursday night, play-by-play announcer Mike Breen will add another NBA Finals to his resume. He is getting ready to yell his trademark «Bang!» when a Denver Nuggets or Miami Heat player hits a 3-pointer while providing commentary NBA fans have loved for years.
Before this season began, Breen couldn’t even think about basketball after learning that his Long Island home was engulfed in flames. The fire was caused by improperly discarded coloring materials in his garage.
Breen spoke at length with The Athletic about the many text messages and calls he received when news broke that his Manhasset, New York, home was destroyed by fire.
Sometimes Breen found it hard to fight her emotions. Her youngest son, Matt, was still living at home, but luckily he wasn’t home when the fire started.
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Mike Breen before a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers during Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals on May 6, 2023, at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Breen said that he and his family are lucky to have such a great support system.
«It’s the story of my life in terms of every step of the way, there’s someone there with kindness or someone who cares or someone who helped,» Breen explained. «All my life I have been blessed. Growing up with a mother, father and brothers, with my own family with my wife and children. My career. I have been blessed with all these things.
«This sounds a bit corny, but something really bad happened. But it became a blessing because we get all this love and kindness from so many people. And it’s hard to express how it feels to know that people really care about you and care about you.» you». Your family.»
Breen and his wife were not home at the time of the fire. They were on a short vacation in Napa before he turned to broadcast duties with the New York Knicks and national games during another NBA season.
THE HOUSE OF ANNOUNCER MIKE BREEN DESTROYED IN A FIRE
When she woke up the day they were supposed to fly home, Breen had countless messages and voicemails from family members hoping they were okay dealing with a fire she didn’t know about yet.
New York Knicks television announcers Walt Frazier, left, and Mike Breen work on a game against the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden on October 21, 2022 in New York City. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
«A couple of my brothers, the voicemails they left, there was so much desperation,» Breen said, via The Athletic, admitting she would be emotional to tell. “Like, one of my brothers was saying, like, ‘Please call me. Call me please. Tell me where you are’. Because they thought he was in the house. You can hear it in his voice. That’s something you just don’t forget.»
Breen said it’s still a shock to think about the moment they finally came home to see what was left of their home. Breen couldn’t help but think of the memories and memories that were lost.
Breen didn’t look for sympathy.
But when the story broke, he felt an outpouring of love.
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«When I go to the arenas, to all the arenas in the country, and you see all these friends. You realize how important they were,» Breen said. «Each one of them meant something because it strengthens you. At a time when you were kind of shaky after the news and what happened, all these people who were there to come together and support us around us, they strengthened us. And it happened to us No problem.
ESPN sportscaster Mike Breen before a game between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on February 25, 2023 in Philadelphia. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
«I fell head over heels in love with humanity because of people’s spirits. It’s amazing what they can do to lift yours.»
While many priceless things were lost in the fire, Breen’s wife found a custom jersey that ESPN had made for Breen with «The Gray Mamba» on the back, a play on the late Kobe Bryant’s nickname.
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Bryant signed the jersey and wrote, «From one Mamba to another,» and it’s something Breen cherishes to this day.