“… It’s a long way from 126 Burnet St. in Elizabeth, N.J., where I grew up,” says a somber Hubert Brown in possibly his last interview with Matt Winer at the NBA. And what a journey it has been. The legend has spent more than half of his life with the sport – completing over six decades. A hooping career since 1958, coaching teams till 2004 and starting a broadcasting journey at the age of 71… and tomorrow will mark his final day in the booth – after two decades as the man animating the matches as the walking-talking Google of basketball.

Last year, a slew of personal setbacks compelled 91-year-old Brown to stay away from the game. But legends are never forgotten – or left behind. As a tribute to the decorated career of a giant, ESPN has planned a special night for the man that has arguably been the soundtrack to the game. Company president Burke Magnus confirmed a fitting send-off for basketball’s multidimensional veteran: “We are going to give Hubie one last shot on a game. He deserves that. We think the world of him.” And boy does he deserve it all.

Hubert Brown’s Storied Legacy: A Carousel of Highlights

Brown’s first college basketball coach job was in 1968. 4 years later, he was an assistant coach for the Bucks lineup featuring Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. That gig set him up as the head honcho of the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels, where he also won his first Championship. After the NBA-ABA merger, Hubie Brown managed 3 teams: the Hawks (’76-’81), the Knicks (’82-’87), and the Grizzlies (’02-’04). Across his tenure, he molded some of the game’s biggest Hall of Famers: from Artis Gilmore and power forward Dan Issel to Bernard King and Spanish gun Pau Gasol.

When Brown re-joined the Memphis franchise after a sixteen-year break, he was the oldest coach at the time at 69 years. Regardless, he orchestrated a complete turnaround for the Grizzlies’ ’03-’04 season; for the first time, they managed to enter the playoffs. That year, Hubie Brown even won the Coach of the Year because of his impact on the team – 26 years after his first time. And now, as the years lost to time have plied past, his swansong has begun.

Before the historic night, the NBA on ESPN page made a carousel post and added a caption hailing Hubert Brown’s storied career. The post noted: “Hubie Brown’s final game as a broadcaster comes full circle—calling it with Mike Breen and right where his NBA journey began in 1972 🤝.” The first post was a quote from Mike Breen who will accompany him for the final game, saying: “It’s the most remarkable thing and it’s not hyperbole: He has probably taught more people about the game of basketball than anybody that’s ever lived“. The second slide summed up his legacy in three photos.

The first one was of him coaching Robertson and Kareem in 1972. The second one signified his chops, guiding the Grizzlies against the greats like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in 2004. The last photo pointed out the 2023 games he called for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama. The sheer number and class of players he has seen evolve in front of his eyes is astounding – take a shot at it, you’ll know.

Alas, disheartening as it is, all good things must come to an end. For Hubert Brown, the past year off the court has been exceptionally challenging. “Losing Claire and then Brendan… It’s been a tough couple of months,” a grief-stricken Brown admitted to NYT in a trembling voice. He has, since, shied away from the court’s limelight. But as he steadies himself for what is surely going to be an emotional farewell tonight, the veteran gave the fraternity a glimpse into his headspace.

Shaping up for one last match, Hubert Brown prepares

Hubert Brown has one last flourish to cap off a career that has shapeshifted, evolved, and reinvented itself as the game has changed. You could assume it comes easily to him by now: rattling off stats, analysing plays and their players, throwing in anecdotes without missing a beat. But you would be wrong. Belying the facade of effortlessness is homework done excruciatingly, a tireless work ethic that could put the greatest ballers to shame.

Over the decades, Brown has refined a routine for himself – a pre-game meditation of sorts. “I will prepare for this game like I prepared for all those years doing television. I will still watch both teams, two full games, and do my notes. I will go back to my pamphlet, my file, on every single team. That allows you to see the starters, the subs, what the teams are running, including at the end of games.”

That’s how the prophetic soothsayer sees what he only can see – by being “in advance of it“. And then comes the next bit: “So then, you go back over the history of all these teams, and you bring that into the telecast (if it allows, because you never know if the speed of the game, the timeout, the injuries, will give you space to fill it with knowledge for the fan).”

In his 35-year career, Brown has called a whopping 18 NBA Finals split between TV and radio – more than any other broadcaster. Yet he says he’ll be nervous on Sunday, just like any other game. Talk about sincerity. Perhaps the man himself put it best: “Will you put in the preparation? Will you put in the camaraderie? And then, can you produce and can you communicate to the audience?” Perhaps that’s what set him a cut above the rest. Hubert Brown may have been many things, but he is, above all, a fan – a simple lover of the game.