Who's your favorite announcing team for nationally televised basketball games? Here are the main ones I can think of: TNT - Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, (Reggie Miller) TNT - Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins ESPN/ABC - Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, (Mark Jackson) ESPN/ABC - Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown ESPN/ABC - Mike Tirico, Jon Barry Personally, I like Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy. I think Mike Breen is the best play by play NBA guy in the business, and JVG adds a great mix of insight and humor. With the addition of Mark Jackson, those three have great chemistry together and it's always an entertaining broadcast.
I like Doug Collin's analysis...he gives great insight and tells it like it is and of course, Harlan and his crazy lines like "he just sucked the gravity out of the room"
Van Gundy seriously is one of the top 3 basketball announcers I have ever seen. Hubie Brown just sits there and spouts off stats. I can hear him now... "He gives you 13-15 points, 5.5 rebounds per game, while shooting at an efficient 55% clip, and keeps his turnovers low- around 1.5 per game. Sweet analysis Skeletor.
It is kind of interesting how a guy who is extremely knowledgeable about the game would put such a heavy emphasis on numbers. More on that here: https://www.nbrpa.com/news/featurearchive/hubie_talks_aba.aspx
this is a good poll, tnt is great both nights, and the van gundy line up is very entertaining too. mark jackson is an idiot 90% of the time though.
Collins is my favorite. I've always enjoyed Walton as well for entertainment. And I miss Steve Jones. Van Gundy is decent I guess. As an aside, Jim Petersen is better than them all. That guy is incredible. I'm crowning him the best in the business.
I'm the only vote for Hubie?! JVG is a great color commentator, but Mark Jackson really cancels him out. Yes Hubie spouts a lot of useless numbers, but he also talks a lot about the nuances of offense and defense. You can learn a lot about basketball from him. I would rate JVG higher than Hubie, but Mark Jackson is too big a negative (he always makes stupid, broad general comments). My Top 3: Hubie, JVG, Jon Barry, in that order.
I like Jon Barry as well, and I also agree with you that Jackson is a douche. The thing is though, JVG knows it too, and he rips into him all the time. So there's some comedic value there.
I voted for Harlan/Collins. But, c'mon Hubie is great. Yeah he tends to exaggerate on how good some of the players are, but I think he's fun to listen to. He gets excited too, and he'll tell it like it is. How often have you heard him say, "Yeah, well he has a legitimate complaint. He got hacked big time." Also when he totally called out Battier for kissing Bavetta's ass when the Rockets played the Pistons was classic.
