If anyone knows what it’s like to walk the line between calling games for home fans and for a national audience, it’s Mike Breen.
The longtime TV voice of the New York Knicks and ESPN’s lead NBA play-by-play announcer was put to the test this past season when the long-suffering Knicks finally won their first NBA title since 1973, and he was on the call.
A play-by-play announcer in a similar situation is Joe Davis, who splits his time between calling Los Angeles Dodgers games and national Fox Sports broadcasts. Those two roles have been closely intertwined in recent years, as the Dodgers won back-to-back World Series and made the NLCS this year before being eliminated by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Along the way, Davis has received a fair amount of criticism for the perception that his Dodgers bias creeps into national broadcasts.
Breen was asked about that during the ESPN NBA 2026-2027 season preview conference call on Monday, and he said he’s a big fan of Davis’s work and doesn’t hear any bias in his calls.
“You know, it comes with the territory, so you just have to expect it,” said Breen. “I’m glad you brought up Joe Davis because I watch all the baseball games. I am such a Joe Davis fan. I think he’s done an incredible job. I listen to his calls when the Dodgers do things and when the opponent does things. I don’t see any bias at all.
“A couple of years ago — I’m a huge Mets fan, and he did a Dodgers-Mets National League Championship Series. And as a huge Mets fan, I did not notice any bias towards the Dodgers. I think he’s done an incredible job.
“But that’s the part of the job that you just have to understand. The fans are so passionate that they’re the least objective probably in terms of deciding if a guy is being biased or not because they care so much about their team and they’re so emotional, especially in the postseason.
“I heard some of that during the Knicks and the Spurs during the Finals last year, but you just try and do the best you can. I try and get as excited for a big Knick basket as I did for the Spurs or any other year when the Bucks won their first championship in 50 years, when the Nuggets won their first championship ever. You try and have that same energy.
“The backlash is part of the job, and again, to reiterate, I think Joe Davis has been amazing in the job he’s done.”
Breen has previously said that he spoke with Joe Buck, a former St. Louis Cardinals and Fox MLB announcer, about how to approach the situation.
“Let it rip and do the New York fans justice, too,” Buck told Breen, according to The Athletic. “This is their moment, as well. So don’t be so ‘unbiased’ that you don’t get excited for the Knicks.”
As for Davis, he talked about the no-win scenario when he appeared on The Awful Announcing Podcast last year.
“I try not to,” Davis told host Brandon Contes when asked if he pays attention to the criticism. “I know it’s there. One of the best things I did before I did my first World Series was I deleted my Twitter. I think I still have the account, but I gave my agent the password and said, ‘Change it. I’m deleting it off my phone. If we ever need to get into it, we can.’ So, I don’t hunt for it because I get it. It comes with the territory. These are exciting, highly emotional times as fans. It’s what makes sports great that we all get a little irrational at points. Dodger fans are going to be upset that I get excited for the other team. The other team’s going to be upset I’m the Dodger guy.”
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