The CelticsBlog staff remembers some of their favorite Mike Gorman calls in his Hall-of-Fame, 43-year career.
Mark Aboyoun: The first call that comes to mind when I think about my favorite Mike Gorman call was Jeff Green’s buzzer beater against the Miami Heat in 2013. Boston was down two with less than a second to go. I remember debating turning off the game assuming it was over. But I’ll never forget the Gerald Wallace pass to Jeff Green in the opposite corner. When the shot went up and hit nothing but net, Gorman’s iconic “GOT IT!” still gives me chills when I look back at that play.
It’s tough to choose one, but I’ll go with the Paul Pierce-Al Harrington showdown in 2003. It’s easy to tell that Mike is as into it as you are and is watching it through the lens of someone who can’t wait to see what happens. “Harrington, talking to Pierce…and Joe DeRosa telling him to shut up” is a heck of a line, and he put some extra oomph into the “Buries it!” He let the moment unfold organically, rose to the occasion with the players and added his own classic Mike Gorman spin.
Michael Spooner: I’ve got to agree with Trevor. Mike’s call of Pierce’s clutch three over Al Harrington in the first round is my favorite. His powerful, direct style on full display with just a little bit of tongue-in-cheek.
“Harrington talking to Pierce, and Joe Derosa telling him to shut up . . . Pierce . . . BURIES IT! RIGHT IN HARRINGTON’S FACE!” Still gives me chills 20+ years later. Not only was the call phenomenal in a vacuum, but the context makes it that much better. The 2001-2003 Celtics were something of brief respite in a long run of bad basketball in the Pitino-era. Coming off a surprise Eastern Conference Finals appearance the year before, Pierce and ‘Toine finally had us excited for Celtics basketball again. This capped off a 21-point quarter for Pierce, and it felt like something special was building in Boston again.
Mike Dynon: If you hung in as a Celtics fan during the late 1990s to early 2000s, you know there was relentless pain and very little fun. But at the end of December 2000, we had one joyous moment where Mike Gorman was just as shocked and happy as the rest of us. It was the Miracle Milt game in New Jersey.
Did that incredible play trigger a turnaround for the season? Heck no. The Celts lost the next six straight and finished fifth in the Atlantic Division with a record of 36-46. But Milt’s game-winner is possibly the most famous play that didn’t really mean anything in Celtics history, made better by the sound of Mike and Tommy enjoying the rare W.
Bill Sy: There’s a subtle mastery of calling a basketball game. Say too much and you’re making it about yourself. Explain too much and you’re making it about yourself. Be too loud and you’re making it about yourself. But if you paint the picture with just enough nuance and detail, you give the audience a chance to find themselves in the moment. That’s Mike Gorman.
“Eyeball to eyeball with Mahorn.”
“Nobody home. Rodman the block.”
The low resonance of Gorman’s voice would have been appropriate for the moon landing. And then he picks up the pace as Isiah Thomas does, too. He hushes, taking a cue from the Garden crowd—
“STOLEN BY BIRD. ON THE CUT TO DJ. YES!”
“UNBELIEVABLE! UNBELIEVABLE!”
Sure, it’s not the screaming enthusiasm of Johnny Most’s iconic call or the homer flavor of his longtime partner Tommy Heinsohn, but I’ll always appreciate Gorman’s tactile approach and often poetic voice mixed in with his court reporter focus to the game. He’s been the soundtrack of my basketball life.
Thank you and congratulations, Mr. Gorman.
