Herb Turetzky began scoring Nets games as a college senior at Long Island University and stayed with the franchise for over five decades, from its time in the ABA through their move to the NBA and most recently the franchise’s migration to his home borough of Brooklyn.
On Thursday, he said goodbye, announcing his retirement as the Nets’ official scorer.
“For 54 years, I’ve had the best seat in the house,” Turetzky said. “It’s been a joy to work with so many incredible people over the years, and I am very proud to be a part of this great organization.”
In recognition of his 54 years with the team, the Nets named him official scorer emeritus. He scored over 2,200 games for the organization and worked 1,465 consecutive regular-season and playoff games, starting in the 1984-85 season and up until October 2018, when a fever of over 103 degrees caused by an infection snapped his streak.
A member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and Basketball Old Timers of America Hall of Fame, he scored the team’s ABA championships in 1974 and 1976, its trips to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and worked in nine different arenas. He managed to return to his spot at Barclays Center after a scary bout with COVID-19 in April 2020.
“It’s almost like if Herb’s not there you can’t play the game,” longtime NBA executive Rod Thorn, a former Nets general manager and president, once told The Post. “He’s part of the family.”
The Nets plan to honor Turetzky at a later date, the team said.
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