His 39th will be his last.

After winning the Curt Gowdy Media Award on Tuesday, Tait said next season will be his final in the broadcast booth.

''If I can physically last another year,'' said Tait, who walks with a cane after multiple surgeries on his knee, ankle and back. ''The travel is what runs you down and out.''

The Gowdy Media Award recognizes members of the print and electronic media whose longtime efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball.

Jackie MacMullan, a longtime reporter for the Boston Globe and recent author of a book on Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, was honored on the print side. Tait joined an electronic honorees list that includes Gowdy, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Marv Albert, Dick Vitale, Bob Costas, Hubie Brown and Jim Nantz.

''Obviously he is a hall of famer,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ''Kudos to him because it's definitely well deserved.''

Tait began as the play-by-play voice of the Cavs eight games into the team's inaugural season in 1970. He left in 1981, but returned two years later.

He is an eight-time winner of Sportscaster of the Year in Ohio and keeps coming back for one simple reason.

''Money,'' he said. ''They don't pay the play-by-play announcer like they pay the 10-day contract guys, let alone the full-time guys.''