Fratello Telestrator

Vintage Czar of the Telestrator!

From The Booth

Appreciate the birthday shout from my Bally Sports Cleveland team!

Cavaliers Live

Czar Co-stars in NBA 2K23

The Czar, Mike Fratello, joins NBA 2KTV to talk about his new role in NBA 2K23, Michael Jordan memories and more!

‘The Czar’ gets his due: Mike Fratello receives 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award

The longtime coach-turned-broadcaster led the Hawks, Cavs and Grizzlies to a combined 667-548 record, with 11 playoff appearances in 16 seasons.

Mike Fratello has been involved in the NBA in some capacity — coach, assistant coach, or broadcaster — since the late 1970s.

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Fratello, young Atlanta Hawks assistant coach, was 35 years old and stood 5-foot-7 inches (same as now) when he got the chance to interview for the Chicago Bulls’ top job for the 1982-83 season.

The process went well enough and Fratello already was home when he got the call that the Bulls had decided to hire Paul Westhead. The snag? One of Chicago’s co-owners had decided that Fratello was too short to command the respect of NBA players.

Recalling that slight Sunday, Fratello, now 75, said, “You earn respect.”

Click here for the rest of the story by Steve Aschburner for NBA.com.