Radio Voice Snubbed For NBA Knicks Anniversary Bash

Marv Albert

The NBA NY Knicks, for it March 21 celebration of the 50th anniversary of their 1969-70 championship, chose not to invite Marva Albert — the radio voice of the team and the author of one of the most legendary calls in sportscasting history.

“It would’ve been nice to see the guys,” Albert said when contacted by The NY Post. “I was not invited.”

Albert is considered by most accounts the greatest NBA play-by-player in history in part because of his “Here … comes … Willis” call that accompanied Willis Reed hobbling on the floor at the start of the Knicks’ Game 7 Finals’ victory over the Lakers.

Albert was the voice of the Knicks from the late 1960s through the late-1990s. He lost his job after pleading guilty in a sexual assault case.

He returned to the job a few years later, but left during a 2004 dispute with James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks and MSG Network. Albert went on to call Nets games on YES for a few years. Today, at 78, Albert is the lead voice on TNT’s NBA coverage.

Albert is still synonymous with the Knicks, especially because he was the voice of the two championship teams.