Former NBA coach and longtime broadcaster Hubie Brown will be making his final appearance at an NBA game, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus announced.
“We're going to give Hubie one last chance in the game,” Magnus said of the 91-year-old Brown. “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” Podcast.
“He deserves it. We think the world of him is amazing. I think the level at which he continues to play even after he's 90 years old is really amazing.”
Magnus added that ESPN plans to honor Brown at some point during the regular season and “send him off with a bang.”
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ESPN broadcasters Hubie Brown (left) and Ryan Ruocco during the San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers NBA game at Staples Center. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
Brown played briefly in the league before becoming a high school basketball coach in 1955, where he spent 10 years, eventually taking assistant jobs at William & Mary and Duke.
Brown returned to the NBA in 1972 and joined the Milwaukee Bucks' staff, helping coach a team that included Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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Brown spent two years in Milwaukee before moving to the ABA in 1974 to manage the Kentucky Colonels. He spent two more years there before the ABA merged with the NBA before the 1976-77 season.
Upon returning to the league, Brown coached the Atlanta Hawks for five years, spent five seasons with the New York Knicks, and ended his coaching career after three seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies.
ESPN broadcaster Hubie Brown during the NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. (Mark J. Revillas/USA Today Sports)
Brown bounced around from coaching job to coaching job, and in between, he landed a job in broadcasting. For example, after being fired by the Knicks, he became a regular TV anchor.
Brown was with the NBA on CBS until Turner Sports purchased the league's media rights in the early 1990s. He joined the Grizzlies in 2002, 16 years after coaching the Knicks, but resigned after 12 games of the 2004-05 season for health reasons.
From there, Brown returned to broadcasting, joining ABC's league coverage and calling the 2005 and 2006 NBA Finals. He hasn't left ABC/ESPN since then.
Basketball is a true passion for Brown, and he continues to provide expert analysis on-air. However, his personal life has been in turmoil lately. His wife Claire passed away in June at the age of 87. Earlier this month, her son Brendan also passed away at the age of 54 due to heart complications.
ESPN broadcaster Hubie Brown during the NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
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Brown is a member of the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the game. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.
