Gus Johnson Being In The Mix For The NBA Playoffs Is A Pleasant Surprise

Mitchell Layton. Getty Images.

When the NBA Playoffs rolled around this weekend, you expected to see a bunch of familiar faces court side for the broadcasts on ESPN and TNT: Mike Breen, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, and Mark Jones are just some of the names who typically call the postseason every year. 

But for the second consecutive year, the one and only Gus Johnson joined that rotation for the NBA Playoffs. The legendary play-by-play broadcaster, who is currently at FOX, is usually seen calling B1G football and college basketball on the network. Johnson made his debut in this year's playoffs last night in the late game between the Nuggets and the Timberwolves, and did not disappoint…

Gus Johnson is expected to call Game 2 between the Bucks and Heat on NBA TV as well. But the big question on my mind is… If Gus has the green light to call the NBA with Turner, does that open the door for a return to Johnson and March Madness?!

I'm going to go ahead and assume that since FOX does not have any NBA rights, it's not as big of a deal for Johnson to call games for the league. With college basketball, his current employer calls a bunch of B1G and Big East games (plus more).

Either way, it's great to see one of the most energetic guys in the profession in the mix in the NBA. He's not for everybody, but a ton of people love it when Gus Johnson is calling the game that you are watching.