Hubie Brown, 91, honored as 'fantastic ride' comes to end - ESPN

Hubie Brown received tributes from across the NBA community as the former coach and longtime broadcaster headed into retirement after spending more than half a century in pro basketball.

The 91-year-old Brown called his final game Sunday as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 135-127. He was awarded the game ball after the final horn sounded.

«I have so many things to be thankful for, but my family and I can never thank everyone enough,» Brown said at the end of the telecast. «We just want to send them the love that I've seen today right back with a big hug. It was a fantastic ride.»

Players from both teams approached him before the game to shake his hand. He received a standing ovation during the opening timeout as a video honoring him aired on the Fiserv Forum scoreboard. Brown responded by blowing kisses to the crowd and mouthing «Thank you.»

Brown indicated he almost cried as that video aired.

He considered it fitting that he was in Milwaukee for his final game as a broadcaster. His first NBA coaching job was as an assistant with the Bucks on Larry Costello's staff, a two-season stint that began in 1972.

«When I came here to the Milwaukee Bucks and Larry Costello, I received a master's degree and a doctorate's degree in basketball in two years,» Brown said at the start of Sunday's telecast.

That launched an illustrious career on the bench and behind a microphone.

Brown coached 15 seasons with the ABA's Kentucky Colonels (1974-76) and NBA's Atlanta Hawks (1976-81), New York Knicks (1982-87) and Memphis Grizzlies (2002-05). He won an ABA title with Kentucky in 1975 and was voted the NBA Coach of the Year in 1978 and 2004.

He spent 35 years as a national TV and radio analyst, covering 18 NBA Finals. Brown