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Jan 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen during the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Knicks Broadcaster Reveals Origins of Legendary Catchphrase

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Maggliocchetti | Last updated Feb 7, 2025 11:00 AM ET

New York Knicks fans and beyond can thank The Bronx for the "Bang!"

Many a momentum-shifting shot has been heralded by the four-letter exclamation from Mike Breen, the primary television voice of the Knicks on MSG Network alongside Walt "Clyde" Frazier. National audiences have likewise enjoyed Breen's narration, as he has called some of the biggest games in modern hardwood history through his work as the lead play-by-play man for ABC and ESPN.

Two of Breen's most popular characters, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, had Breen dive into the origins of "Bang!", which he often utters after a big shot that draws a huge crowd reaction. Breen dated the quick but memorable phrase to his college days at Fordham University.

"When I was a student at Fordham, we were all part of the Fordham radio station," Breen recalled. "But we would all go [to] the game we weren't broadcasting, there were about 10 of us, we'd go, sit in the stands because we loved our school, like you're Villanova fans ... When a Fordham player hit a big shot, that's what I would yell as a fan, I don't know why it started, but I started doing it."

Breen felt the phrase would work well on the air, particularly for his calls of Rams games as a student broadcaster on Fordham's long-running radio station WFUV. But "Bang!" was in danger of never entering the basketball lexicon thanks to Breen himself, as he felt the bit "[didn't] work."

But Breen had a change of heart when he started calling tri-state area high school basketball games on television. Noting how loud the "bambox" gyms could get, Breen realized he needed a "concise" quote to herald big shots.

Hence, "Bang!" was brought out of retirement and the rest is history.

"I don't have that baritone voice to rise above a screaming crowd," Breen said. "For me to try and yell over the crowd was hard. So, I just used the one-syllable word and I liked the way it sounded in those high school games."

Breaking out "Bang!" on the high school level allowed Breen to form a strategy around it: he attempts to use it only when the crowd is particularly raucous and tries to steer most uses in favor of the home teams—at least on national broadcasts.

"When I do Knicks telecasts, it doesn't matter home or road," Breen told Brunson and Hart. "If one of you guys hits a big three, I'll do it."

In its purest form, a "Bang!" from Breen can be either the most beautiful or heartbreaking sound to a basketball fan's ear. On occasion, Breen has even been known to break out a rare double "Bang!', famously doing so after then-Knick Donte DiVincenzo sank a game-winning three-pointer in Game 2 of last spring's Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Breen reiterated that one of the very few things that would necessitate a triple "Bang!" would be a shot that secured an NBA Finals victory for the Knicks.

"If either of you guys, anybody on the Knicks, if you hit a game-winning shot in the Finals, there will be a triple bang," Breen promised.

Knicks fans hope the "Bang!" calls are plentiful on Saturday, as Breen will be on the call when New York faces the defending champion Boston Celtics (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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