On May 26, 2026, veteran broadcaster Mike Tirico won his first Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play. The industry milestone comes as sports media analysts are reassessing his dominant position across major sports broadcasts. On The Ringer NBA Show, host Bryan Curtis celebrated Tirico's return to calling basketball, putting him in the absolute top tier of live sports callers.
Curtis pointed to Tirico's unmatched versatility and poise during high-stakes games. "meaning they have the great voice and the ability to just go at any time, it's Tirico and Joe Buck for me," Bryan Curtis said, adding that "to hear Tirico doing play-by-play, doing the Western Conference Finals, it's been awesome." For Curtis, Tirico represents the gold standard alongside Joe Buck of modern play-by-play, capable of elevating any broadcast crew he anchors.
During a fantasy draft of the ultimate NBA broadcast crew, Bryan Curtis didn't hesitate to lock in his play-by-play lead, stating simply, "The game is gonna be called by Mike Tirico." While some critics might debate the ideal structure of a broadcast team, Curtis remains bullish on Tirico's ceiling, asserting that "Tirico probably has levels to go to that we don't even anticipate now." However, Curtis did voice a strong disagreement with the current industry trend of crowded broadcast booths, declaring, "I don't think you need three people to call a basketball game, and I'll always think that."