Who is Hubie Brown? Meet the NBA analyst at time of retirement

Brown started coaching at various high schools, joining St. Mary Academy, Cranford High School, and Fair Lawn High School. The high school gauntlet prepared him for life as a college coach, and he eventually took an assistant coach position at William & Mary for one season. He lasted just one year as a more prominent school came calling.

The Duke Blue Devils made Brown their new assistant coach for four seasons from 1968-1972. The clout of being a coach at Duke helped Brown’s career reach new heights, as Larry Costello hired him as his assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1972. Brown had the honor of coaching players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson.

Hubie Brown’s head-coaching opportunities

Brown finally got a chance as a head coach when the Kentucky Colonels hired him in 1974. The Colonels were part of the American Basketball Association for two seasons under Brown, but they folded during the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Despite folding, Brown got an opportunity to continue as a head coach when the Atlanta Hawks hired him.

Brown’s first season was a disaster, but he improved their win total by 10 the following year and won Coach of the Year. Two years later, he led them to their second division title. However, Brown lasted one more season after they struggled in 1980-81.

Brown then led the New York Knicks from 1982 to 1987. The Knicks made the playoffs in his first two seasons, but they were among the league’s worst teams for the rest of his tenure. He decided to leave the team before the start of the 1986-87 season.

Hubie Brown’s break from coaching

Brown covered some NBA games after the Hawks’ firing and even stepped in for playoff games while coaching the Knicks in years when they didn’t make the postseason.

CBS hired him as a full-time broadcaster in December 1986, and he was on the station’s third team for the remainder of the season. He was promoted to the second team the following season and replaced Billy Cunningham as the lead analyst in 1988.

Brown stayed with CBS until they stopped broadcasting basketball games and joined TNT as their national broadcaster in the early 1990s. He remained with the station until the end of the 2001-02 season. He had two Sports Emmy nominations through the first section of his broadcasting career.

Brown returned for two more seasons as a coach, from 2002 to 2004. The Memphis Grizzlies hired him after their previous coach was fired after an 0-8 start. At 69, he was the oldest coach in the NBA when the Grizzlies hired him. Brown’s first year was a struggle, but the team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history the following year.

The Grizzlies started to worry about Brown’s health, and Brown eventually resigned on November 25, 2004.

Hubie Brown finishes his career with ABC and ESPN

Brown’s health issues didn’t keep him away from the court, as he signed with ABC as their top analyst after resigning from the Grizzlies. He worked with Al Michaels and Mike Breen, broadcasting the 2005 and 2006 NBA Finals calls. Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy eventually replaced Brown, but he stayed at the network.

Brown worked with greats like Mike Tirico, Mark Jones, and Dave Pasch. He continued working until the 2024-25 season, but the past year has challenged him. Brown lost his wife, Claire, who he had been married to for 54 years, on June 7, 2024. It wasn’t the only loss Brown suffered, as he also lost his son Brendan on November 3, 2024, due to health complications.

Brown decided it was time to finish his career, and he broadcasted his last game on February 9, 2025, in a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks. Mike Breen joined Brown for his last call.

Nevertheless, this is all we know about Hubie Brown’s life.