ESPN announcer Mark Jones has a reputation for dropping colorful calls and phrases when he’s working a broadcast.
The fact the play-by-play man was working a mere NBA Summer League game Friday night didn’t stop him from trying out some fun one-liners.
Jones got started early in the first quarter, when Los Angeles Lakers guard Tommy Kuhse put a move on Houston Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard, who slipped and fell.
“Sheppard fell. Got dropped like a diss track, from Kendrick Lamar,” Jones explained.
Mark Jones having some fun calling Reed Sheppard in the Summer League.
“Sheppard fell. Got dropped like a diss track, from Kendrick Lamar.”pic.twitter.com/nCCj29F5pc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 13, 2024
Jones had an even better call for Sheppard in the third quarter, after the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft drove the lane and knocked down a nice floater.
“Oh wow … he was deep in his bag, like the fries were at the bottom,” Jones called.
On the positive end for Sheppard.
“OH, HE WAS DEEP IN HIS BAG. LIKE THE FRIES WERE AT THE BOTTOM.”
(@cjzero)pic.twitter.com/G7cY2MbCKl
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 13, 2024
Jones has a knack for dropping calls like that with ease. Earlier this year, Jones, who calls Sacramento Kings games for NBC Sports California, went into full thesaurus mode to describe a last-second turnover that doomed the Kings.
“And that’s going to be a pejorative, hurtful, deleterious turnover,” Jones lamented.
“That’s gonna be a pejorative, hurtful, deleterious turnover.”
When watching a game Mark Jones is calling, it’s good to have a dictionary handy. pic.twitter.com/wOuOpDp0xj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 30, 2024
Nice to see Jones honing those already considerable PBP skills in summer-league action.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.