Malik Rose Leaving the Broadcast Booth

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

I was planning to write about the Sixers 2015-16 schedule today, but that has to be pushed aside to discuss some very sad news for Sixers fans that hit the wire late last night. After 4 years as color commentator for the Sixers, Malik Rose will be leaving the team to take a position as Manager of Basketball Operations with the Atlanta Hawks.

First off, good for Malik, who has wanted an NBA front office position for some time, and lands in a good place with a Hawks organization that features plenty of connections to his San Antonio days where Rose played 8 of his NBA seasons. However, for those of us not moving on to greener Eastern Conference pastures, this is a terrible turn of events.

Following Eric Snow literally falling asleep at the wheel as a broadcaster, Malik was a breath of fresh air for the Sixers and instantly developed a terrific chemistry with longtime play-by-play man Marc Zumoff. Rose would play the ‘cool guy in the know’ role while Zoo was playfully the older guy oblivious to certain things. However, you could tell it was a mutual admiration society between them and their rapport and friendship made for a pleasant viewing experience. The two are also both Big 5 alums and I always enjoyed them talking local college hoops during the broadcasts.

Malik had a knack for nicknames, whether it be the Night Shift for the dominant Sixers bench of a few years back, or Ol’ School Chevy for the recently-retired Elton Brand. He also seemed clued in on what was happening with Sixers twitter and made references to certain things during the game, which was like a movie having easter eggs in it for us fans at home. Add that bit of announcing flair and fan service to his knowledge of the game from his long, successful playing career, and you really couldn’t ask for much more from a color commentator.

Perhaps most importantly though, Rose called it how he saw it out on the court. If a Sixers player was dogging it out there, Malik made it known he didn’t think that was acceptable. He also wasn’t afraid to say when a ref made a terrible call, even if it was one that favored the Sixers. Malik perfectly toed the line between being excited when the Sixers were doing well and acting as an impartial evaluator of the on-court action.

The Sixers have lost a lot (I mean, a lot) of games over the past couple years. A large part of what made this rebuild so tolerable was the team having arguably the best broadcast team in the game. Rose was a huge part of that and his presence will be sorely missed. Godspeed, Malik.