Top 5 Marv Albert Calls

Happy belated Birthday, Marv Albert! It's sure been a tumultuous career for Marvelous. The voice of the Knicks for over 30 years (including their only 2 championships) was fired twice by MSG, first for biting on his hoes (to quote Cam'ron) and then, after being rehired, was then fired again for speaking his mind about the terrible team that the Knicks had become. Despite those bumps in the road, Marv's been the unmistakable voice for so many big NBA moments (along with a host of other sports). He coined the phrases "on fire", and "from downtown" among many others. You might have read Complex's extremely lame list today, replete with errors, and corny jokes, written in that way that only Complex can. These are the real top 5 Marv Albert broadcasting moments. Yes!

5) Reggie's 25 point 4th Quarter

All of the moments on this list are impossible to separate from Marv's calls. You can't think of Reggie's spike baiting performance in the 94 ECF without hearing "From waaay downtown" along with Matt Guokas's stunned "look at this shot!". "And once again, has something to say in the direction of Spike Lee". Nobody does drama better than Marv.

4) Jordan's Shrug

One of the biggest mistakes the NBA has made in the past 25 years (besides thinking that owning one of it's teams would be a good idea) is letting it's partnership with NBC end. ABC and ESPN are ok (aside from their studio commentators) but nothing can match the NBA on NBC for sheer nostalgic joy. Just the first couple notes of John Tesh's theme music and I'm a little happier. The NBA on NBC heyday also coincided with the Jordan (and PTU) 90s heyday. And Marv was a part of much of Jordan's signature plays. The shrug might have been the signature Marv/Jordan call if not for....

3) A spec-TAC-ular move

.....this move by his Airness. Even though the switch to his left hand was kind of unnecessary (he claims he saw Sam Perkins about to put his hand up but could Sam Perkins ever block Michael's shot?)it's still one of the iconic Jordan moments made even more so by Marv's call. This Finals was the changing of the guard, from Magic and Bird's 80s to Michael's 90s.

2) The Dunk

I've already written extensively on "the dunk" so I'm not going to say much about it except it was a great moment and Marv said just enough about it without overdoing it. "The Garden..is rocking".

1) "Here Comes Willis"

That Complex didn't have this high on their list is a crime. I assume it's because most of their writers are in their early twenties or really stupid (or both) or do busy drooling over the Yeezy 2's to actually remember that this might be the biggest moment in NY basketball of all time, and Marv's call was a part of it. It's one of those cheesy moments that you think only happens in movies, and that you probably wouldn't see today. If Willis Reed were thinking about playing, David Aldridge would tweet it at 4 pm and it would lose some impact. Back then, Marv was the only messenger and he played the role well.