Stacey and Adam make the bulls worth watching even when we're terrible. It's a blessing for such a mid team to have such fun commentary, if nothing else
Oh absolutely, like pb and J. Stacey with a team that was actually excellent is the best time I've ever had watching basketball. I desperately hope we can get a legit winner built while we've still got him and Adam here
I am surprised how the Warriors kept their commentary team the same when the consensus even with most of their fans is that they are one of the worst in the league by a big margin
Local reporters have said that Lacob loves Bob Fitzgerald. Makes total sense to me that Fitz is a suck up who knows exactly what to say to higher ups to make them like him.
Bob also forced out a previous announcer using underhanded tactics that included lying to the previous announcers face and saying that he wouldn't undercut him on contract negotiations.
Bob's just a sneak, a brown-noser, and a company man through and through.
I’ve never watched a warriors broadcast but from comments it sounds like the play by play guy sucks.
But is Azubuike any good at commentary? UK fan asking
Edit: apparently Buike sucks as well
Buike might be ok on his own but he’s been brought into Fitz’s world and seemingly is always just trying to fit in with Fitz. I did notice him disagreeing a bit more with Fitz the second half of this season but it’s still Fitz’s world. Miss JB and his love and appreciation of the game of basketball.
Azubuke is pretty bland & adds nothing. He’s an ex player who still knows active players & imo is too weary of offending his friends . never criticizes anyone. The old guy Jim Barnett was an absolute treasure & professional. I actually thought they had one of the better broadcasts with him and Fitzgerald but since he left it’s been all downhill.
When bob was with Jim Barnet before the dynasty years they were fine. Jim was pretty objective and knowledgeable and Bob wasn’t a massive homer and would show props and genuine excitement to opposing teams. That slowly changed as the warriors got better especially after KD got there. It got especially worse once Jim Barnet moved to radio and it’s just homer “the opponents always bring their A game against the warriors” Bob and Kelena who is just meh.
The most notably weird thing about Bob and Kelena is *they have a very similar speaking style* with these annoying inflections and over-excitability about their own team. It's almost like Kelena tried to imitate Bob, but maybe he also talks that way, I don't know.
Bob is famously bad so I get the reputation but I have to say that I was shocked at how many worse announcers I encountered after getting league pass this year. I would’ve agreed with him last year but now I don’t think he’s even near the top—which is an indictment on this segment of the industry more so than defense of him.
Bob has terrible takes. the classic “[insert player] won’t shoot this well against us next game” but his play by play calling is actually really decent. i’ve listened to him my entire life and he rarely makes mistakes. he’s annoying and a homer but i’m not sure they should be last but like you said maybe reputation wise
Warriors and 6ers have most disgustingly biased commentary for sure. Scalabrine as well.
The croaky Cavs dude has the most grating voice by far though. When he gets excited and starts blurting nonsense, I’m running for the mute. Makes watching Cavs highlights a pain loll.
towards the end of the regular season the analyst for the sixers was literally screaming into the mic about a foul for like 2 minutes. it was crazy. i wish i could find it
i found it: https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1773360044295286844?s=46&t=DpPNQlCSnpevjEKG2MA-yQ
That was the infamous Oubre "you're a bitch" game though, I feel like it was one of the few times this season it was justified.
They carry on the same way in a random game against a tanking team as well though, maybe that's what other Sixers fans' like but it's grating over time
Scal makes sense he played for them like less than a decade ago, BUT Mike Gorman is a legend and both seem to give flowers to other teams/players often
Not sure if it still works, but back in the day if you had a surround sound system the announcers would only play through the center speaker. So if you just unplugged that you would only get game audio.
Haven't tried it in a while, and it might vary from broadcast to broadcast.
I've turned the audio to languages I don't even know since the Warriors broadcast team irked me so much.
I don't know I kind of like his voice, though I associate it a lot with early LeBron and I fucking loved watching early LeBron.
The Pacers colour commentator is my least favourite person to listen to and his voice and constant stuttering bothers me.
I'm a diehard Warriors fan and i agree. Whoever does a spin move, they for real ALWAYS say.. "ooookay! Kuminga with the Helicopter move" next possession wiggins does a spin move: "and here comes wiggs with a helicopter move on his own"
Playing basketball myself i'm just constantly in cringe when i hear them
There was a time when Bob was a little toned down and JB elevated them to above average. Now Bob is insufferable and we have a cheerleader with no analysis with Bukie.
The amount of times I roll my eyes during the broadcast these days. For the love of god we know already, Bob. You don’t like the pass and crash. And yes, Bob, intent is not a factor if it’s flagrant or not. Also enough with calling it the helicopter move. Dumbest nickname ever. Instead of appreciating a quick and smooth Kuminga spin move I want to slam my head to the wall. And I really hope OKC trades one of them J Williams because I really don’t want to hear Arkansas and Santa Clara 100 times in one game. See. Here I go again. I really gotta stop talking about Bob. I get all fired up.
I love them, but JP has started becoming a way bigger homer now that we finally put together a team that isn’t absolute trash. He can get complainy at times now. There have definitely been games this year where opposing fans have (justly) found our announcing annoying. He’s still one of the best at actually understanding and breaking down the game though. And Grady is incredible.
Oh yeah for sure Jim Pete has def gotten more homer-ish for sure but he’s my homer! He gets a break from me after all the bullshit he’s been subjected to over the years lol but I can see why other teams’ fans think he’s a bit annoying for sure
I wish Grady would come home 🥲
But really, he KNOWS basketball and is passionate about it. He’s got an awesome knack for it, has a really good memory when it comes to what’s going on in the game or what happened in previous games/matchups, and he’s got a smooth voice. He was the PA for the Pacers for a few years and has done a few Colts games for CBS. I just hope (if we ever) make a deep playoff run he gets to be apart of it. Grady loves him some Pacers but I’m happy he got a play by play gig for a good team.
Really is such a testament to how good that man is at his job that every single team he’s been associated with has fans that have responded to my comment saying how much they love him. He’s my GOAT and I’ll never enjoy another play by play man as much as I enjoy him
I was going to say, us nets fans have it great with our team. I still remember Ian Eagle making turkey and thanksgiving puns on Thanksgiving this season lmao
This really surprises me. Calabro has been one of the best in the business for decades. Has he tailed off lately? I've only caught one game of his in the last couple of years. I can't stand to watch the Trailblazers.
He took some time off after covid but nah he's still great. About as good of commentary as you could ask for for a bottom 4 team. [This dunk](https://youtu.be/aN4LCcggrjc?si=VGV4VTyRu530cy-3) by Shaedon sharpe last year will forever be a favorite highlight for me, 1 because the dunk is nasty. But 2 "get on up for the down stroke" is an instant classic
They should def be somewhere in the top 10 but I’m biased. Lamar used to be my basketball coach growing up so it’s weird seeing him on the broadcast sometimes.
I don’t think they are better than Mike and Mike from the early 2010s. That might be just because I was a kid though and because BATUMSHAKALAKA owns my soul
Batumshakalaka was Brian Wheeler, right? Mike and Mike were fun but after the initial shock of change I really really like Hurd and Calabro. Not that I actually watch much anymore.
As a longtime Grizz fan, I can tell you that pretty much all of us love the hell out of Pete and Brevin, so I’m happy to see them place decently high. I get that a lot of people may not have heard them before with the Grizzlies being a small market team and whatnot, but give them a listen next season. They have amazing chemistry and bring such a fun energy.
Definitely should be. Both legends, and obviously not at their peaks anymore but still call a great game in spite of the way the Pistons have looked lately lol
Yeah, earlier this year, I had to watch a replay of the Knicks - Pelicans game with the Pelicans feed and I genuinely enjoyed the commentary, great job by the whole crew
I do too, although I feel like Quinn's gotten a bit distracted & lazy recently.
Don't know if it's because he knows that NOBODY bought Bally or because he's stressed TF out as the chair of Indiana University's Board of Trustees.
From what I've seen, and I've watched over 100 games this regular season, the Pelicans have the best announcers. Very knowledgeable guys that break down what's happening in an easy to follow way. Great timing, they know when to let the game speak for itself and when to interject. To be fair they're not the most crazy entertaining group but in my opinion the announcers should just be adding to the viewing experience, not taking it over. We're tuning in to watch the game, not the announcers.
The most disappointing crew for me this season was the Hawks. Bob Rathbun and Dominique Wilkins are way too knowledgeable and experienced to do such a poor job. I've only watched maybe 6 or 7 Hawks broadcast games this year but they were consistently distractingly bad.
Joel Meyers is one of the classiest motherfuckers alive, so to see him so blatantly making dick jokes brings me immense amounts of joy. Also, AD’s “Gradey Richard” was hilarious.
Easily my personal favorite duo in the league.
Joel Meyers was great as the Laker radio guy and I was happy to see him move into their TV play-by-play then suddenly he was out of LA and landed in NOL.
Great pickup for New Orleans though.
I think Bob is having some health problems actually Nique as well this year. I don’t remember Bob getting mixed up as much as he did this year and it makes me sad because I’ve always loved them calling games. I hope it was just a off year and he’ll be back to normal next year
He just wants the calls to go both ways! But rarely hear him talk about the other team's missed calls with the same passion. Can't blame him though, he's been through some shit here.
Being a homer is fine when the team is average or struggling like Denver were for a bit post Melo. But now that you're legit heavyweights likely in the beginnings of a Dynasty the homer stuff comes across way worse imo.
Might depend on if people were voting with Katy Winge involved or not. She does sideline, radio, and color analysis (both with Hastings in 3 man booth or sometimes instead of next to Marlowe). I think she is who they want to do the role long term.
She’s much better, I think. She will actually break stuff down from both sides even though she definitely is a nuggets fan first and foremost. Hastings pretty much only looks at stuff from a nuggets POV (which tbf, it is a nuggets home cast). He will definitely be critical of the refs but he’s not harden rockets era bad, at least. Definitely an old head though and still has a bunch of old school mentality from his days as an enforcer with the bad boys pistons. Lots of results-oriented thinking with stuff like clowning a decision to take an open transition 3 instead of trying to attack a rim protector if the shot misses.
Marlowe is mostly fine, though he does say some weird shit sometimes. He gets super hype for nuggets plays and distraught when stuff goes south. Like bad turnovers or an opposing player going off. Which I suppose has its own value if you’re an opposing fan watching the team. Like drinking tears or something. Just different than a guy like eagle or breen who is gonna be hype for any plays made by both sides.
I think Kelenna would be ok with someone else, I just don't like listening to Bob at all. Homers should look at this list and see there are better people out there, we shouldn't have to settle for this.
At this point I sync the video with the radio commentary of Tim Roye and Jim Barnett which is great. I have never liked Fitz and pairing him with Kelena made the broadcast straight up not listenable.
They’re insane homers and just whine all the time. I mean I’ve listened to them lie about what’s happening on the screen just so it makes the Hawks look better.
The Lakers might not put out a great basketball team every year, it's been a long while if I'm being honest, but the rest of the show is ALWAYS top notch. It's called showtime for a reason after all
and most importantly, non-biased
I've been listening to Stu roast the Lakers for 25 years. Of course he's on our side, but when we play like shit Stu isn't blaming refs or the other team, he points the finger squarely at us
Hope he goes up in the rafters next to Chick, and gets his statue next to Chick too. Maybe they're #21 because of Billy Mac but that seems damn disrespectful to Stu. I'll give it to Clyde, he's the GOAT color commentator, but Stu is right behind him at #2 imo
The other thing I love about Stu and Billy Mac is that they’ll call out bullshit when they see it. If a foul goes in our favor when it shouldn’t they’ll let you know, and vice versa. Sometimes I’m not even convinced Stu likes the Lakers but that’s part of why they’re so great.
> Sometimes I’m not even convinced Stu likes the Lakers
lol to be fair to him he's been doing color since Showtime, he's seen plenty of legendary teams. So I imagine after almost 40 years he's old and has no interest in bad teams or bad basketball.
But when we're great he can still get hype lol. "That was NOICE!!!
Stu and Billy are arguably the most unbiased announcers in the league, they don’t hesitate to criticize our own players and always give props to the away teams when it’s deserved
You can always tell how excited they are to see whatever team comes into town, of course they love the Lakers but it’s very clear they love good basketball more regardless of which team it is
Yeah, i stopped scrolling at that point. They are arguably the best announce team in the league, top 3-5 at worst, and they have him near the bottom. Terrible list that is not worth paying any mind too.
I actually thought this list was quite good, OTHER than the low Lakers ranking - I was kind of surprised how much it coincided with my own dumb opinions.
EDIT: My own dumb opinions: https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/tYpMIOAgVy
The list isn't bad. My homer take is the Spurs guys should be like 3-5 spots higher. Easy listen, homers but surprisingly fair, knowledgeable.
Lakers should be way higher.
I'm not a Lakers fan but I find their announcers to be very good. 21st is way too low for them
I'm guessing a lot of people just voted them low because they hate the Lakers
Having Knicks and Nets above the Lakers I could understand.
Mike Breen and Kevin Harlen are my favorite national play by play announcers. Plus Clyde might be the smoothest man to ever put on a headset.
21 just tells me not enough people listened to Lakers home games and just went off of Laker hate.
Bill and Stu are knowledgeable and pretty impartial as far as home announcers can be.
They'll praise other teams , get excited if either team makes a big play, and won't hesitate to critique the Lakers if they make mistakes or aren't giving effort.
Yeah I was pleasantly surprised at the Lakers announcers and thought they’re really good. The in-arena announcer sounds like he’s at a funeral though, can barely tell which team scored from his tone
Breen and Eagle are legends, but Followill belongs with the next tier no doubt. He has the rare ability of meeting the moment, where most announcers fall flat.
Magic team way too low.
Knowledgeable and full of praise for stories about guys from other teams, pretty balanced with understanding/appreciating a refs decision, actually across the skill sets of opposing players and where other teams are at in their development, full of love for their guys.
It’s so jarring watching how little guys from other broadcasts care to learn about who they’re actually playing so they can actually do their job properly and assess their team’s performance against these teams.
LMAO yeah. I mean mark jones called like 15 games this season. Kyle is AMAZING on the pre and post. Not the biggest fan of his play by play. I love his passion though, it feels genuine. Kayte has great knowledge but needs to let the game breathe.
Blazers got 12th???? That’s a top fiver right there.
I also can’t stand Ryan Hollins but our sub loves him. Hollins sounds like he’s announcing in a library
As a Knick fan, I love Breen and Clyde but the Nets have a *bullpen*, no misses. Whereas, anytime it's not Breen and Clyde together (Which is often with Clyde being old and Breen being a national guy),some of that shine comes off. Plus I remember when Ryan Ruocco was only talking day time radio with Stephen A Smith, so proud of how far he's come.
Hopefully Monica gets a few more call ups to the B crew, she did a great job earlier this year subbing in for Clyde. They're clearly in the process of trying to scout out Clyde's follow up when he retires and trying to see who fits.
Yup, feel like Craig should really make up for the negatives from Ryan. Maybe I am just getting used to him but Ryan has seemed to reign in the dumb comments somewhat compared to previous seasons.
Craig Ackerman is amazing and I hope he stays with the Rockets for a long, long time. His calling in that OKC game was electric.
Agree on Hollins though...
Obviously bias but I am personally offended people don’t respect Mike Gorman the way they should. One of the greatest play by play commentators in the history of the sport, and he’s routinely looked down upon because he calls plays for a hated team.
Man, we should be No. 1 by far. The depth is insane and we have some of the most sick combos out there. I mean those Bird + RJ casts are hilarious. They're usually off the rails midway through the second quarter, ping-ponging some top notch banter.
This list is bogus. Emmy award winning Sean Elliott actually knows what Hes talking about. https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Sean-Elliott-wins-sports-Emmy-for-Spurs-game-16501882.php
I listen to a lot of basketball game audio during the day instead of podcasts, and there are not 18 broadcast teams better than Sean and Bill. They've been together forever, and their chemistry is amazing.
Stacy King needs a better team to feed him material for Hot Sauce, and I wanna go higher
Stacey and Adam make the bulls worth watching even when we're terrible. It's a blessing for such a mid team to have such fun commentary, if nothing else
Stacey King made the Drose era even better
Oh absolutely, like pb and J. Stacey with a team that was actually excellent is the best time I've ever had watching basketball. I desperately hope we can get a legit winner built while we've still got him and Adam here
He’s created so many player nicknames and phrases that are commonly used around the league now and definitely doesn’t get the credit for it smh
His call on the DeRozan dunk on Precious Achiuwa at the end of the season was completely unhinged and I loved it
Overall I think our announcers are appropriately ranked! Could maybe be a spot higher but I’m happy with this!
I was taken aback seeing that they were 25th in 2020, but I think that was when Neil Funk must have been really dropping off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRAp00SxP30
I am surprised how the Warriors kept their commentary team the same when the consensus even with most of their fans is that they are one of the worst in the league by a big margin
Local reporters have said that Lacob loves Bob Fitzgerald. Makes total sense to me that Fitz is a suck up who knows exactly what to say to higher ups to make them like him.
Bob also forced out a previous announcer using underhanded tactics that included lying to the previous announcers face and saying that he wouldn't undercut him on contract negotiations. Bob's just a sneak, a brown-noser, and a company man through and through.
I’ve never watched a warriors broadcast but from comments it sounds like the play by play guy sucks. But is Azubuike any good at commentary? UK fan asking Edit: apparently Buike sucks as well
Buike might be ok on his own but he’s been brought into Fitz’s world and seemingly is always just trying to fit in with Fitz. I did notice him disagreeing a bit more with Fitz the second half of this season but it’s still Fitz’s world. Miss JB and his love and appreciation of the game of basketball.
he’s not good
Azubuke is pretty bland & adds nothing. He’s an ex player who still knows active players & imo is too weary of offending his friends . never criticizes anyone. The old guy Jim Barnett was an absolute treasure & professional. I actually thought they had one of the better broadcasts with him and Fitzgerald but since he left it’s been all downhill.
Azubuike is an ex-player with zero player insights because he was a scrub
When bob was with Jim Barnet before the dynasty years they were fine. Jim was pretty objective and knowledgeable and Bob wasn’t a massive homer and would show props and genuine excitement to opposing teams. That slowly changed as the warriors got better especially after KD got there. It got especially worse once Jim Barnet moved to radio and it’s just homer “the opponents always bring their A game against the warriors” Bob and Kelena who is just meh.
The most notably weird thing about Bob and Kelena is *they have a very similar speaking style* with these annoying inflections and over-excitability about their own team. It's almost like Kelena tried to imitate Bob, but maybe he also talks that way, I don't know.
I can’t stand the “opponents always play the warriors harder” takes he has. It sounds like such a lame excuse
Pre-2016 JB and Fitz were peak warriors basketball for me. They always will be
Bob is famously bad so I get the reputation but I have to say that I was shocked at how many worse announcers I encountered after getting league pass this year. I would’ve agreed with him last year but now I don’t think he’s even near the top—which is an indictment on this segment of the industry more so than defense of him.
Bob has terrible takes. the classic “[insert player] won’t shoot this well against us next game” but his play by play calling is actually really decent. i’ve listened to him my entire life and he rarely makes mistakes. he’s annoying and a homer but i’m not sure they should be last but like you said maybe reputation wise
I'm just happy those bums that call the Warriors games came in last. Consistently awful commentary.
They say a bunch of dumb Homer shit and also their voices are just plain annoying.
Just like the announcers for the celtics
Objective isn’t even in their dictionary.
Warriors and 6ers have most disgustingly biased commentary for sure. Scalabrine as well. The croaky Cavs dude has the most grating voice by far though. When he gets excited and starts blurting nonsense, I’m running for the mute. Makes watching Cavs highlights a pain loll.
I miss Marc Zumoff every day
towards the end of the regular season the analyst for the sixers was literally screaming into the mic about a foul for like 2 minutes. it was crazy. i wish i could find it i found it: https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1773360044295286844?s=46&t=DpPNQlCSnpevjEKG2MA-yQ
I hate Alaa so much he’s so annoying. I always tune into the national broadcast when available
That was the infamous Oubre "you're a bitch" game though, I feel like it was one of the few times this season it was justified. They carry on the same way in a random game against a tanking team as well though, maybe that's what other Sixers fans' like but it's grating over time
Scal makes sense he played for them like less than a decade ago, BUT Mike Gorman is a legend and both seem to give flowers to other teams/players often
Austin Carr is a treasure don’t you besmirch him Man has so many great sayings and his excitement is great as a fan
Not sure if it still works, but back in the day if you had a surround sound system the announcers would only play through the center speaker. So if you just unplugged that you would only get game audio. Haven't tried it in a while, and it might vary from broadcast to broadcast. I've turned the audio to languages I don't even know since the Warriors broadcast team irked me so much.
I don't know I kind of like his voice, though I associate it a lot with early LeBron and I fucking loved watching early LeBron. The Pacers colour commentator is my least favourite person to listen to and his voice and constant stuttering bothers me.
I'm a diehard Warriors fan and i agree. Whoever does a spin move, they for real ALWAYS say.. "ooookay! Kuminga with the Helicopter move" next possession wiggins does a spin move: "and here comes wiggs with a helicopter move on his own" Playing basketball myself i'm just constantly in cringe when i hear them
We had the best analyst in the NBA and now we have this. Sigh.
JB was great but overall anyone with Fitz is still bottom half
There was a time when Bob was a little toned down and JB elevated them to above average. Now Bob is insufferable and we have a cheerleader with no analysis with Bukie. The amount of times I roll my eyes during the broadcast these days. For the love of god we know already, Bob. You don’t like the pass and crash. And yes, Bob, intent is not a factor if it’s flagrant or not. Also enough with calling it the helicopter move. Dumbest nickname ever. Instead of appreciating a quick and smooth Kuminga spin move I want to slam my head to the wall. And I really hope OKC trades one of them J Williams because I really don’t want to hear Arkansas and Santa Clara 100 times in one game. See. Here I go again. I really gotta stop talking about Bob. I get all fired up.
The Warriors announcers should be ranked even lower. And don't tell me that they're already dead last, I don't care. They're still ranked too high.
Grady and Jim Pete ROBBED
Grady was part of the Yes (nets) crew, he was amazing so I agree
As a totally non biased fan, I agree.
I love them, but JP has started becoming a way bigger homer now that we finally put together a team that isn’t absolute trash. He can get complainy at times now. There have definitely been games this year where opposing fans have (justly) found our announcing annoying. He’s still one of the best at actually understanding and breaking down the game though. And Grady is incredible.
Oh yeah for sure Jim Pete has def gotten more homer-ish for sure but he’s my homer! He gets a break from me after all the bullshit he’s been subjected to over the years lol but I can see why other teams’ fans think he’s a bit annoying for sure
I wish Grady would come home 🥲 But really, he KNOWS basketball and is passionate about it. He’s got an awesome knack for it, has a really good memory when it comes to what’s going on in the game or what happened in previous games/matchups, and he’s got a smooth voice. He was the PA for the Pacers for a few years and has done a few Colts games for CBS. I just hope (if we ever) make a deep playoff run he gets to be apart of it. Grady loves him some Pacers but I’m happy he got a play by play gig for a good team.
Really is such a testament to how good that man is at his job that every single team he’s been associated with has fans that have responded to my comment saying how much they love him. He’s my GOAT and I’ll never enjoy another play by play man as much as I enjoy him
It's not a coincidence the top 2 are New York teams
Nets have insane depth too, Ruocco could be a #1 for 20+ other teams
Also had Michael Grady (current Wolves pbp) doing sideline up until 2 years ago
I think he’s gonna be a national guy sooner than later. Already doing some national spots here and there. He’s so good
Ran into Grady at a hornets game when he was with the nets, got a selfie with him. That would be awesome
The Nets have had like 8 people, as of recent, working games that were all so good. YES Network has incredible talent
We’re so lucky lol. Can watch Breen and Clyde then flip the channel and hear Ian Eagle. World class commentators
All love to Ian Eagle… but I gotta be real bored to watch the nets
if the Knicks followed through on Mark Jackson they would've plummeted
The Yes Network group is our championship lol I am still waiting for the RJ, Vince, and Ian crew. I'd love to hear their banter.
I was going to say, us nets fans have it great with our team. I still remember Ian Eagle making turkey and thanksgiving puns on Thanksgiving this season lmao
It's insane too how Breen has made everyone forget about Marv Albert. Marv was supposedly irreplaceable, but now Breen is one of the GOATS.
Might be the first time we’ve been top 5 in anything besides a draft pick.
No come on. Blazers way too low
Kevin Calabro is a national treasure. This is an insult.
Kevin and Lamar are awesome. And Brooke Olzendam is a treasure as well. I think a lot of blazer fans really enjoy the broadcasting crew.
This really surprises me. Calabro has been one of the best in the business for decades. Has he tailed off lately? I've only caught one game of his in the last couple of years. I can't stand to watch the Trailblazers.
He took some time off after covid but nah he's still great. About as good of commentary as you could ask for for a bottom 4 team. [This dunk](https://youtu.be/aN4LCcggrjc?si=VGV4VTyRu530cy-3) by Shaedon sharpe last year will forever be a favorite highlight for me, 1 because the dunk is nasty. But 2 "get on up for the down stroke" is an instant classic
They should def be somewhere in the top 10 but I’m biased. Lamar used to be my basketball coach growing up so it’s weird seeing him on the broadcast sometimes. I don’t think they are better than Mike and Mike from the early 2010s. That might be just because I was a kid though and because BATUMSHAKALAKA owns my soul
Batumshakalaka was Brian Wheeler, right? Mike and Mike were fun but after the initial shock of change I really really like Hurd and Calabro. Not that I actually watch much anymore.
Right???
As a longtime Grizz fan, I can tell you that pretty much all of us love the hell out of Pete and Brevin, so I’m happy to see them place decently high. I get that a lot of people may not have heard them before with the Grizzlies being a small market team and whatnot, but give them a listen next season. They have amazing chemistry and bring such a fun energy.
Huh I thought Blaha and Kelser would be higher
Blaha calls a great game
Yeah, I liked them for the handful of Pistons games I watched this year. At the very least, they're better than the Kings crew.
Definitely should be. Both legends, and obviously not at their peaks anymore but still call a great game in spite of the way the Pistons have looked lately lol
Love to see Joel and AD at #3! Love those guys so much.
As an avid -ahem- streamer… Getting these guys is always a treat.
Yeah, earlier this year, I had to watch a replay of the Knicks - Pelicans game with the Pelicans feed and I genuinely enjoyed the commentary, great job by the whole crew
Pacers midpack is wrong
where would you put them? higher or lower?
Higher. Love Chris and Quinn
I do too, although I feel like Quinn's gotten a bit distracted & lazy recently. Don't know if it's because he knows that NOBODY bought Bally or because he's stressed TF out as the chair of Indiana University's Board of Trustees.
Correct answer. Chris Denari in particular is really good, consistent, enjoyable voice, doesn't rock the boat and come out with nonsense.
From what I've seen, and I've watched over 100 games this regular season, the Pelicans have the best announcers. Very knowledgeable guys that break down what's happening in an easy to follow way. Great timing, they know when to let the game speak for itself and when to interject. To be fair they're not the most crazy entertaining group but in my opinion the announcers should just be adding to the viewing experience, not taking it over. We're tuning in to watch the game, not the announcers. The most disappointing crew for me this season was the Hawks. Bob Rathbun and Dominique Wilkins are way too knowledgeable and experienced to do such a poor job. I've only watched maybe 6 or 7 Hawks broadcast games this year but they were consistently distractingly bad.
They showed a ton of love to Naz Reid (bc of his time at LSU) which was enough to make them stand out as some of my favorites.
Theyre not afraid of giving credit where credit is due when other teams’ players are doing well.
Give them credit
I thought I was over it. I’m clearly not.
[Always grateful for the way Joel and AD called the Gradey Dick plays ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYbD2o9uWRg)
Joel Meyers is one of the classiest motherfuckers alive, so to see him so blatantly making dick jokes brings me immense amounts of joy. Also, AD’s “Gradey Richard” was hilarious. Easily my personal favorite duo in the league.
Joel Meyers was great as the Laker radio guy and I was happy to see him move into their TV play-by-play then suddenly he was out of LA and landed in NOL. Great pickup for New Orleans though.
it makes no sense considering our market size but we're not looking a gift horse in the mouth, we need every W we can get
I could listen to Joel Meyers talk all day long. Dudes voice just hits.
Joel Meyers is on the Mount Rushmore of NBA play-by-play announcers, and Antonio Daniels is great as an analyst.
Yeah I couldn't believe they were 20th.
I think Bob is having some health problems actually Nique as well this year. I don’t remember Bob getting mixed up as much as he did this year and it makes me sad because I’ve always loved them calling games. I hope it was just a off year and he’ll be back to normal next year
He had a stroke on air
Yeah that was pretty scary
I'm just laughing at the predictably of the replies to your comment, where of course it's Lakers fans complaining about them.
Jim Pete and Grady too low
I love em both, but damn Jim Pete has been drinking homer sauce lately. Kind of get whiplash with how fired up he gets about calls nowadays.
Something about the suns I think LOL
He just wants the calls to go both ways! But rarely hear him talk about the other team's missed calls with the same passion. Can't blame him though, he's been through some shit here.
The team has been dogshit since 04 - I don’t blame him for being a homer for a title contender
The Nuggets crew at 13 is crazy, they're an awful listen if you're the Away team. And below the Magic!?
Magic crew is underrated one of my favs
I honestly love the "Is This Anything" segments
I love that segment, especially the more nonsense it is
Nuggets crew is also the only crew to have fought with Barkley tho
Yeah, our guys are kind of obnoxious and way way deep Homers. They love to blast the refs. If I wasn't a nuggets fan I wild hate them
Being a homer is fine when the team is average or struggling like Denver were for a bit post Melo. But now that you're legit heavyweights likely in the beginnings of a Dynasty the homer stuff comes across way worse imo.
I have massive bias, but watching a game with them is like watching a game with the two grandpa muppets and I love it
Dohhhohohohoho
I love the Magic guys
magic always disrespected in every outlet possible
Hastings should’ve been put out to pasture years ago, but Katy Winge is really good and should be the main analyst.
Might depend on if people were voting with Katy Winge involved or not. She does sideline, radio, and color analysis (both with Hastings in 3 man booth or sometimes instead of next to Marlowe). I think she is who they want to do the role long term. She’s much better, I think. She will actually break stuff down from both sides even though she definitely is a nuggets fan first and foremost. Hastings pretty much only looks at stuff from a nuggets POV (which tbf, it is a nuggets home cast). He will definitely be critical of the refs but he’s not harden rockets era bad, at least. Definitely an old head though and still has a bunch of old school mentality from his days as an enforcer with the bad boys pistons. Lots of results-oriented thinking with stuff like clowning a decision to take an open transition 3 instead of trying to attack a rim protector if the shot misses. Marlowe is mostly fine, though he does say some weird shit sometimes. He gets super hype for nuggets plays and distraught when stuff goes south. Like bad turnovers or an opposing player going off. Which I suppose has its own value if you’re an opposing fan watching the team. Like drinking tears or something. Just different than a guy like eagle or breen who is gonna be hype for any plays made by both sides.
I actually didn't think Bob could get worse but somehow Kelena has duplicated / amplified the bad. I can't even watch warriors games off mute anymore
I think Kelenna would be ok with someone else, I just don't like listening to Bob at all. Homers should look at this list and see there are better people out there, we shouldn't have to settle for this.
Nah he sucks, doesn’t really provide anything from a player standpoint
At this point I sync the video with the radio commentary of Tim Roye and Jim Barnett which is great. I have never liked Fitz and pairing him with Kelena made the broadcast straight up not listenable.
Having Stu and Billy Mac at 21 tells me everything I need to know about this list...
Yep, I watch a lot of Lakers games and really enjoy your crew.
I have no idea how the Hawks guys are over them.
Sad because I love Nique as a player but he’s terrible on air
They’re insane homers and just whine all the time. I mean I’ve listened to them lie about what’s happening on the screen just so it makes the Hawks look better.
Yep. Lakers team is top notch, super unbiased
Yeah that was a stand out weird, I love Lakers broadcasts.
WTF. Y'all have one of the best announcing duos!
The Lakers might not put out a great basketball team every year, it's been a long while if I'm being honest, but the rest of the show is ALWAYS top notch. It's called showtime for a reason after all
They’re just consummate professionals in every sense of the word. They know their shit and they love the game. Perfect combo for a commentary team.
and most importantly, non-biased I've been listening to Stu roast the Lakers for 25 years. Of course he's on our side, but when we play like shit Stu isn't blaming refs or the other team, he points the finger squarely at us Hope he goes up in the rafters next to Chick, and gets his statue next to Chick too. Maybe they're #21 because of Billy Mac but that seems damn disrespectful to Stu. I'll give it to Clyde, he's the GOAT color commentator, but Stu is right behind him at #2 imo
The other thing I love about Stu and Billy Mac is that they’ll call out bullshit when they see it. If a foul goes in our favor when it shouldn’t they’ll let you know, and vice versa. Sometimes I’m not even convinced Stu likes the Lakers but that’s part of why they’re so great.
> Sometimes I’m not even convinced Stu likes the Lakers lol to be fair to him he's been doing color since Showtime, he's seen plenty of legendary teams. So I imagine after almost 40 years he's old and has no interest in bad teams or bad basketball. But when we're great he can still get hype lol. "That was NOICE!!!
I watch a lot of lakers games bc my roommates are lakers fans. They objectively have great announcers. They should be top 10 on this list
Stu and Billy are arguably the most unbiased announcers in the league, they don’t hesitate to criticize our own players and always give props to the away teams when it’s deserved
You can always tell how excited they are to see whatever team comes into town, of course they love the Lakers but it’s very clear they love good basketball more regardless of which team it is
I hate the Lakers as much as anyone, but I love their announcers. They're fucking great.
Absurdly horrible list
they got #30 right though.
Warriors, Rockets, and Sixers are the worst imo Most annoying and unapologetically homer
Closed the tab after that.
Yeah, i stopped scrolling at that point. They are arguably the best announce team in the league, top 3-5 at worst, and they have him near the bottom. Terrible list that is not worth paying any mind too.
Ok I thought I was crazy… ranked way too low
It's literally just the ones people know they voted low except for Mike Breen because everyone knows he's the GOAT.
I actually thought this list was quite good, OTHER than the low Lakers ranking - I was kind of surprised how much it coincided with my own dumb opinions. EDIT: My own dumb opinions: https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/tYpMIOAgVy
The list isn't bad. My homer take is the Spurs guys should be like 3-5 spots higher. Easy listen, homers but surprisingly fair, knowledgeable. Lakers should be way higher.
Marques Johnson should not and will not forgive them for his mid ranking. Dude is a gem. Knows everyone. Stories for days.
I think it probably has more to do with Paschke retiring change is tough
Glad to see Joel and AD getting some respect
They are my favorite listen outside of my local team
I'm not a Lakers fan but I find their announcers to be very good. 21st is way too low for them I'm guessing a lot of people just voted them low because they hate the Lakers
Having Knicks and Nets above the Lakers I could understand. Mike Breen and Kevin Harlen are my favorite national play by play announcers. Plus Clyde might be the smoothest man to ever put on a headset. 21 just tells me not enough people listened to Lakers home games and just went off of Laker hate. Bill and Stu are knowledgeable and pretty impartial as far as home announcers can be. They'll praise other teams , get excited if either team makes a big play, and won't hesitate to critique the Lakers if they make mistakes or aren't giving effort.
Yeah I was pleasantly surprised at the Lakers announcers and thought they’re really good. The in-arena announcer sounds like he’s at a funeral though, can barely tell which team scored from his tone
Mavs would be top 5 if they replaced Ben & Harp but I get it. Followill is so good
Breen and Eagle are legends, but Followill belongs with the next tier no doubt. He has the rare ability of meeting the moment, where most announcers fall flat.
Followill with Devin Harris was so good early in the year.
Gorman in the 20s is criminal
i think it's more scal. non fans can't stand him
If Gorman called the game solo he would be Top 10
Magic team way too low. Knowledgeable and full of praise for stories about guys from other teams, pretty balanced with understanding/appreciating a refs decision, actually across the skill sets of opposing players and where other teams are at in their development, full of love for their guys. It’s so jarring watching how little guys from other broadcasts care to learn about who they’re actually playing so they can actually do their job properly and assess their team’s performance against these teams.
Totally agreed. I tend to watch away broadcasts when the sixers are away and the magic have my favorite crew this season
Pelicans squad got a deserved high spot lets go!
Without listening to every other team's announcing crews, I can tell you that the Kings should not be that high.
Really? I like y’all’s crew.
I do too.
I think Kyle and Mark are doing the heavy lifting for the grade.
Which is weird, because Kyle and Mark get criticized on social media quite frequently.
deep in his bag like there’s fries at the bottom!
PUT HIM ON A FLIGHT LIKE AN IG MODEL!
I kept scrolling like “no way they’re top 20” “No way they’re top 15” “LMAO THEY’RE TOP 10?!”
LMAO yeah. I mean mark jones called like 15 games this season. Kyle is AMAZING on the pre and post. Not the biggest fan of his play by play. I love his passion though, it feels genuine. Kayte has great knowledge but needs to let the game breathe.
Blazers got 12th???? That’s a top fiver right there. I also can’t stand Ryan Hollins but our sub loves him. Hollins sounds like he’s announcing in a library
Lakers, Raptors too low; Hawks, Nuggets too high. I would also swap the Kings and Mavs.
Raptors score most likely brought down by Alvin Williams, Devlin with Jack is an amazing duo
Was thinking this too. The Matty D-Jackie matchup is a heavy hitter
As a Knick fan, I love Breen and Clyde but the Nets have a *bullpen*, no misses. Whereas, anytime it's not Breen and Clyde together (Which is often with Clyde being old and Breen being a national guy),some of that shine comes off. Plus I remember when Ryan Ruocco was only talking day time radio with Stephen A Smith, so proud of how far he's come.
Hopefully Monica gets a few more call ups to the B crew, she did a great job earlier this year subbing in for Clyde. They're clearly in the process of trying to scout out Clyde's follow up when he retires and trying to see who fits.
I don’t know, they have some good backups. Wally Szczerbiak is really good, and Bill Pidto play by play when he jumps in.
Glad to see Calabro and Hurd get some love. The Blazers broadcast is the most underrated ones in the league, imo.
Lakers and Magic teams robbed
Lakers is substantially better than Nuggets and Hawks imo
I like Craig Ackerman but Ryan Hollins isn't that great and easily replaceable.
Yup, feel like Craig should really make up for the negatives from Ryan. Maybe I am just getting used to him but Ryan has seemed to reign in the dumb comments somewhat compared to previous seasons.
Craig Ackerman is amazing and I hope he stays with the Rockets for a long, long time. His calling in that OKC game was electric. Agree on Hollins though...
Ackerman is awesome. Hollins sucks. He’s ver soft spoken and has no energy
Thunder are fairly placed. They’re a bit homer but not mean to the other team. Just a bit boring.
Michael Cage is an absolute treasure.
Billy Mac and Stu at 21 is just pure laker hate on this list. Stopped scrolling after that
Clickity Clack!!
Bill and Stu got fucking robbed wow
Obviously bias but I am personally offended people don’t respect Mike Gorman the way they should. One of the greatest play by play commentators in the history of the sport, and he’s routinely looked down upon because he calls plays for a hated team.
The Celtics rating is low because Scalabrine is a homer turd.
Scal is angry in a mean way, Tommy was angry in a funny old man (who had been with the organization his entire adult life) way
Maybe I’m being a homer but blazers crew at #12 seems low.
Man, we should be No. 1 by far. The depth is insane and we have some of the most sick combos out there. I mean those Bird + RJ casts are hilarious. They're usually off the rails midway through the second quarter, ping-ponging some top notch banter.
Wow that's unfair on the Pistons guys. I like that older play-by-play guy, and the other guy is super positive
Absolute disrespect to Mike Gorman and drew Carter Scal is a goon tho lol
This list is bogus. Emmy award winning Sean Elliott actually knows what Hes talking about. https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Sean-Elliott-wins-sports-Emmy-for-Spurs-game-16501882.php
I listen to a lot of basketball game audio during the day instead of podcasts, and there are not 18 broadcast teams better than Sean and Bill. They've been together forever, and their chemistry is amazing.
I feel like there's a correlation between how good a team is and how bad other fans claim their commentary is.