Knicks radio announcers Tyler Murray, Monica McNutt following in footsteps of some legendary voices
Monica McNutt and Tyler Murray are the voices of Knicks games on MSG Networks radio on ESPN 880. Credit: MSG Sports
It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time when virtually the only way to follow the Knicks live in the NBA Finals was to listen to Marv Albert call the games on the radio because the television broadcast was tape-delayed in New York.
That led to special transistor-based memories when Albert called the Knicks winning their first title in 1970 on WHN.
Tyler Murray and Monica McNutt don’t have that same pressure as the voices of Knicks games on MSG Networks radio on ESPN 880.
But following in the footsteps of legends such as Albert, Marty Glickman, Mike Breen and John Andariese is just one of the many challenges accepted by Murray and McNutt, who are in their second season together in the booth and spoke to Newsday earlier this week in a joint telephone interview.
“It's a really exciting challenge,” Murray said, “because you put yourself in the seat of someone driving around in the car, maybe walking around the city with headphones on, and your priority is to give them as much information as possible as quickly and as clearly as possible.
“On TV, you can let the pictures speak for itself. But on radio, it's almost like a public service. Here's what you need to know right now. Here's who's got the ball, where they're standing, where they're shooting.
"I always think, if I'm a fan, which I am — I grew up in Connecticut, lifelong Knicks fan — all I want to know from my radio guy is, are the Knicks winning? If so, by how much? And if they're losing, what's it going to take to come back? So that's what I always keep my mind on. Let's paint that picture. Let's keep the main thing the main thing.”
The main thing for the Knicks during Murray’s tenure has been winning. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season and the NBA Finals this year. Not bad for a 35-year-old who came to the Knicks after a stint as the play-by-play voice of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox.
Murray joined McNutt, 36, who is in her third season as lead analyst on Knicks radio and also is a ubiquitous presence on MSG and ESPN on the television side.
Asked if there is a difference between appearing on radio vs. television, McNutt said, “One hundred percent different. I often say that I think radio is the purest basketball medium. I think the way that Tyler has to describe what is happening, my having to get in in a timely fashion and get out of the way, to me, it’s probably one of the best ways you can engage all of your creative senses. Because you have to follow along and allow your minds to create the pictures that Tyler is so delicately painting for you.”
Asked when the chemistry between the pair felt right, Murray said to McNutt, “The audition . . . You made fun of me for not having cool shoes, and it was the whole balance of you felt comfortable roasting me. I was like, ‘Nice, I'm roastable,’ and then we built it from there.”
And, Murray added, he now has cool shoes.
As if calling the first two NBA Finals games in San Antonio isn’t heady enough stuff, Murray and McNutt will get to announce Monday’s Game 3, which will be the first Finals game at the Garden in 27 years.
“I think in a way I'm fortunate to have a job to do,” Murray said, “because as a fan, I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that the Knicks are at this point for the first time since I was 9 . . . I think, man, if I was home watching this right now or in the seats, I'd be losing my mind. But just being on the radio broadcast really helps you keep everything clean and professional while still bringing that same energy.
“It won't feel like any other game, obviously, but the nice thing is, we've been in some crazy Garden environments already these last couple of years. It's just going to be heightened that much more. It’s really a dream come true just to be in the building, honestly, let alone getting the chance to call the game with Monica on the radio.”
And if they get to call the game when the Knicks clinch their first title since 1973?
“I'm not a huge dreamer,” McNutt said. “I sleep pretty soundly. I'm very grateful for the level of sleep that I have. But all types of little snippets of what it could be like in New York, whether it's Game 3 or there's a parade, have found their way into my subconscious. That place is going to be alive.”
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
More sports media
