Adam Amin recently left ESPN to join Fox Sports, where he’ll do play-by-play for NFL and MLB games (potentially some college football and college basketball as well). Even with the new Fox Sports duties on his plate, Amin will also be the new television play-by-play announcer of the Chicago Bulls, according to Andrew Marchand of The New York Post:
Amin is on the verge of becoming the new TV voice of the Chicago Bulls, according to sources.
Amin, a 33-year-old Chicago native, will replace the retiring longtime voice of the Bulls, Neil Funk.
Amin is a Chicago native and grew up a Bulls fan, as he talked plenty about on a recent Awful Announcing podcast.
The 33-year-old has been a rising, versatile star in the sports broadcasting industry, and Chicago sports fans are already pretty familiar with him. Amin has been the preseason television voice for Chicago Bears preseason games since 2018 (it’s unclear if he’ll continue doing that following his new gigs), and he filled in for 15 Bulls TV broadcasts over the last two seasons on NBC Sports Chicago (he was scheduled to do at least four more Bulls games that were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Amin will replace longtime Chicago play-by-play man Neil Funk, who’s retiring after calling Bulls games for 28 years, including five of the six championship years (Funk has been an NBA announcer since 1976). Funk and color commentator Stacey King formed an announcing duo that ranked 25th in our 2019-2020 local NBA announcer rankings (as decided by reader votes).
This is an excellent hire for the Bulls and NBC Sports Chicago, bringing youth and intelligent commentary — along with the voice of a Chicago native and Bulls fan — to the TV broadcast.
Update: The Bulls officially announced on Monday that Adam Amin will be their new television play-by-play announcer alongside Stacey King, beginning in the 2020-2021 NBA season.
Here are Amin’s comments:
“The experience of filling in for Mr. Funk gave me a glimpse of what it’s like to work with such an exceptional group of professionals inside the Bulls organization and NBC Sports Chicago,” said Amin. “To have the privilege of joining the Chicago Bulls broadcast team is way beyond a dream coming true. The little kid sitting on the floor of his parents’ basement watching Bulls games could never have imagined this. I am absolutely ecstatic and truly grateful to the organization for trusting me with this opportunity.”
The Bulls will bring in a substitute play-by-play announcer when Amin has to call NFL and MLB games for Fox Sports.
Amin is entering his first season with FOX Sports as a play-by-play announcer for the network’s NFL and MLB coverage, and he will continue in this role while serving as the lead TV voice for the Bulls. For those games Amin is absent, the team will slot in a substitute play-by-play announcer. Plans will be announced at a later date.
In addition to Amin, Jason Benetti (play-by-play for the Chicago White Sox and ESPN) and J.B. Long (play-by-play for the Los Angeles Rams and Pac-12 Network) filled in for Neil Funk several times over the last two years.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.