'Full-circle experience' for Nets broadcasters Noah Eagle and Ian Eagle

Local play-by-play announcers often grew up as fans of the teams they chronicle, from Gary Cohen and Howie Rose on the Mets to Michael Kay on the Yankees to Mike Breen on the Knicks and beyond.

But the Nets? Not so much. Until now.

The YES Network has found itself a genuine, born-and-raised Nets fan to add to its roster for 2023-24, a 26-year-old named Noah Eagle who is to call about 10 games this season.

“I’m not sure how many people could think back to say, ‘I remember when Zoran Planinic hit a 75-footer,’ " he told Newsday. “Or, ‘I remember when Boki Nachbar was knocking through corner threes.’

“I will have that ready to go, just from my own personal experience.”

How did this happen? Eagle did grow up in New Jersey when the Nets still played there and recalls their 2001-02 and ’02-03 NBA Finals teams. But his connection runs deeper — and closer to home — than that.

His father, Ian, has called Nets games for nearly 30 years and remains YES’ lead play-by-play man.

When Ian and Ryan Ruocco both are unavailable, Noah will get the nod, beginning Dec. 2 with a home game against the Magic.

Even at his young age, Noah already has seen it all with the Nets — other than their last championship, which came in the ABA 20 years before he was born.

“I went to the NBA Finals games in back-to-back years,” he said, “and I was at the games when they were 12-70.”

Said Ian, “He was a legitimate Nets fan growing up, and I'm sure it's going to be a 'pinch me' moment for him. My earliest memory of him falling in love with sports was at the Meadowlands, and it truly is a full-circle experience for our family.”

Noah attended Syracuse, like his father, making an early name for himself there. Then he went directly from college to the Clippers’ radio job, hired at 22.

He did national work for Fox and CBS, too, including on Nickelodeon’s popular version of NFL games.

Noah’s father said the early exposure to the job made the transition to actually doing it easier. “He was never intimidated, and when he got some big assignments early in his career, he didn't bat an eye,” Ian said.

Now Noah’s national home is NBC, where he has been calling the network’s new Big Ten college football package. He also will work Big Ten basketball games for NBC.

He returned to the East Coast in part to be closer to Big Ten schools. After he moved to New York, YES reached out to see if he would fill in on the Nets. NBC signed off, and here he is.

“It keeps me involved with the NBA,” Eagle said, “and from a personal standpoint, it’s special just to come that full-circle moment with a team I grew up watching and rooting for.”

The NBA was an early passion, from when he was as young as 5 and sitting in his father’s office reading media guides.

“I just think it's really cool to see these guys be superhuman on a nightly basis, and so I was always passionate to do it,” he said. “For the last four years it was amazing to kind of spring my career with that. I really couldn't have asked for anything better.”

His Clippers stint also allowed him to establish himself beyond being the son of a famous father in the same business.

“I think it adds this level of, OK, yeah, he's done it before,” Noah said. “This isn't just brand new . . . He’s done it. Let's bring him in and have some fun with it.”

Speaking of fun, Noah shows flashes of the humor for which his father is known — as was his grandfather Jack, a comedian, actor and musician who died in 2008.

“I’m not someone who's going to force it,” he said, “but when [chances] present themselves, which they always tend to do over the course of a 48-minute game at least once or twice, I'm going to pounce.

“So I would say yes, I'm going to try to see what I can do. I'm not going to try to go at the same level as my dad, because I'd say that's difficult. He is in my estimation among the funniest people on the planet.”

Even at age 54, Ian can hold his own with his son on 21st century pop culture.

“He covers a lot of ground,” Noah said of his father, who earlier this NFL season made a Taylor Swift song reference on a Travis Kelce touchdown catch. “He is multi-generational in his abilities. I don’t know what he does. I don't know if he's a time traveler of some sort.”

Ian said he hears a lot of himself in Noah but also has noticed his son developing his own style. Now they will be colleagues.

“My dad thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to everything I did, from WFAN updates to network TV play-by-play,” Ian said. “I feel the same joy watching Noah and could only imagine the pride his grandfather would have felt if he were around today.

“Ultimately my most important role is being his dad. That supersedes anything broadcast-related. But it's been fun to exchange notes and ideas about our day-to-day game prep.

“I'm now trying to convince people that he's my brother. That will make it much easier when I inevitably start lying about my age.”

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.