Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks". Albert was best known nationally for his work as the lead announcer for both the NBA on NBC and NBA games on TNT. In 2015, he was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
In addition to working extensively in both professional and college basketball, he has experience calling a variety of other sports, such as American football, ice hockey, horse racing, boxing, and tennis. Albert has called the play-by-play of eight Super Bowls, nine NBA Finals, and seven Stanley Cup Finals. He has also called the Wimbledon Tennis Championships for TNT with Jim Courier and Mary Carillo and has worked as a co-host and reporter for two World Series (1986 and 1988).
In 1997, Albert was charged with sexually assaulting a woman. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery charges, after which NBC fired him. It rehired him less than two years later.
Albert hails from a family of broadcasters. His brothers, Al and Steve Albert, and a son, Kenny, are also play-by-play sports commentators.
Albert was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City, where he went to Abraham Lincoln High School. His family members owned a grocery store on Brighton Beach Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets known as Aufrichtig. He attended Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications from 1960 through 1963. In 1962, he served as the voice of the AAA Syracuse Chiefs. He graduated from New York University in 1965.
National Basketball Association
After getting his start by being a ball boy for the New York Knicks, Albert worked his first Knicks game as a broadcaster on January 27, 1963, on WCBS Radio. He was filling in for his mentor, Marty Glickman, who was away in Europe. The game was against the Celtics at the Boston Garden. Beginning in 1967 and lasting 37 years, Albert served as the voice of the New York Knicks on radio and television before being let go by James L. Dolan, the chairman of the MSG Network and Cablevision, after Albert criticized the team's poor play on-air in 2004. It was said that Albert's high salary was also a factor. His son, Kenny Albert, has been a part-time play-by-play announcer for the Knicks since 2009, filling in whenever the elder Albert's successor, Mike Breen, is unavailable.
Albert was the lead play-by-play announcer for the NBA on NBC for most of its run from 1990 to 2002, calling every NBA Finals during that timeframe except for 1998, 1999, and 2000, which were called by Bob Costas in the wake of Albert's arrest for sexual assault. Albert resumed his previous position for the 2000–2001 season and called Game 4 of the 2002 NBA Finals, which was the final NBA telecast on NBC. During his time on NBC, he continued as the lead play-by-play man for the New York Knicks on local MSG Network telecasts and began calling national games for TNT in 1999, as well. When he regained the lead broadcaster position on NBC, he continued to call play-by-play for both networks until the end of NBC's coverage in 2002.
Albert continued to be the lead play-by-play announcer for NBA games on TNT, a position he assumed in 1999. Indeed, TNT had become his primary commitment ever since his longtime employer NBC lost the NBA broadcasting rights in 2002 to ABC and ESPN, which may have played a role in his departure from the Knicks' broadcast booth. The Knicks reportedly wanted Albert to accept a salary commensurate with his reduced Knicks schedule but also weren't happy about Albert making what Knicks management felt were overly critical comments about their team despite their losing record.
In basketball, his most famous call is his simple "Yes!" for a basket, rendered in many variations of volume and length depending on the situation.
On April 17, 2002, shortly after calling a game between the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers on TNT, both Albert and color commentator Mike Fratello were injured in a limo accident in Trenton, New Jersey. Albert sustained facial lacerations, a concussion, and a sprained ankle. The 2002 NBA Playoffs was set to begin two days later, with Albert scheduled to call multiple games that week. Bob Costas filled in for those games, and Albert returned to call Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.
On May 15, 2021, it was reported that Albert had planned on retiring following the 2021 NBA playoffs. The news became official two days later. His last game called was Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.
In 2005, Albert officially became the lead play-by-play man for the New Jersey Nets franchise started calling their games on the YES Network, often teaming with Brooklyn native and NBA veteran Mark Jackson. With that, the Nets had employed all three Albert brothers during the franchise's history; Al started his broadcast career with the Nets during their ABA days, while Steve called Nets games during the late 1970s and 1980s. Beginning with the 2008–09 season, he was also paired with his TNT broadcast colleague Mike Fratello on the YES Network. However, with the Nets' struggles in the 2009–10 season, Nets management relegated Albert to secondary play-by-play and was replaced by Ian Eagle. In 2011, Albert left the YES Network to join CBS Sports for NFL and NCAA tournament coverage.
Other basketball-related ventures
Albert hosts a basketball-focused interview show on NBA TV, which also airs on YES.
Albert also hosted the Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers VHS tape by NBA Entertainment in 1988.
Since 2003, Albert has also been providing the play-by-play voice on the NBA Live video-game series from EA Sports, a role he fulfilled until NBA Live 10.
From 2011 to 2015, Albert announced NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament games, the result of longtime tournament broadcaster CBS handing off some of its coverage to Turner Sports.