The 90-year-old Hubie Brown stands out as a pillar of continuity amid recent ESPN layoffs that bid goodbye to adored characters. He has been a broadcaster since 1985, and he is expected to be retained to call games in the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA season.
Brown, inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame in 2022, is still going strong and is living proof that legends transcend time.
The question is who will Brown work with now that some of his fellow broadcasters have been laid off. Doc Rivers and Doris Burke are tipped to replace Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy as lead analysts, but there’s no word yet on Brown.
Brown covered only 15 NBA games in the previous season, prompting speculation whether he will continue to be a rare presence in the new season.
Where did Hubie Brown coach?
Hubie Brown’s coaching career began in 1955 at St Mary Academy, where he oversaw the baseball club besides coaching basketballers. Before making his NBA debut with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1972, he continued as an assistant coach at the College of William & Mary and Duke University. He had the privilege of working with future Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar there.
Subsequently, Brown was head coach of the Kentucky Colonels in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and then returned to the NBA as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA.
Hubie Brown’s coaching genius shines as a beacon in the annals of basketball. He earned his first Coach of the Year award in 1977–1978 after leading the Hawks to a 41–41 record. Later, his leadership of the New York Knicks brought him mixed results. Then, after a 16-year absence, Brown made a dramatic comeback with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002–2003, leading them to a record of 50–32 the next season and winning his second Coach of the Year award. His long and remarkable career as a coach and sheer longevity as a broadcaster makes Hubie Brown a legend in the world of basketball.
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