The Portland Trail Blazers have found their new play-by-play man.
According to a report from Joe Freeman at The Oregonian, Braiden Bell will be the voice of the team on local television broadcasts, working alongside analyst Lamar Hurd and courtside reporter Brooke Olzendam.
Bell, 29, graduated from Arizona State in 2019, and quickly starting calling college basketball, first for Cal Baptist and later his alma mater on ESPN+. From there, he landed the play-by-play role with the Phoenix Suns G League team, and later the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.
“Braiden is a rising talent and everyone is excited to have him,” one team source told Freeman. “We had a big pool of people express interest in the job and there was a lot of talent and experience. But he really stood out. One of the biggest parts of this is chemistry and Braiden and Lamar had great chemistry. I think people will be able to see that immediately. We just felt he was a good fit.”
Bell will be taking over the play-by-play role in Portland from broadcasting veteran Kevin Calabro. Calabro spent 22 years calling games for the Seattle Supersonics before their relocation to Oklahoma City, and joined the Trail Blazers broadcast team in 2016, serving in his role for 10 years. His time with the team came to an end this past offseason following the sale of the Trail Blazers to new owner Tom Dundon.
Dundon made a number of cost-cutting moves, several of which hit the franchise’s television and radio broadcast teams. Calabro left the team after receiving a low contract offer, per The Athletic, opening the role that Bell is stepping into. Calabro will join the Timberwolves broadcast team for select games this season.
Bell is set to make his debut with the Blazers on October 21, when Portland opens the season against the Phoenix Suns—a fitting first game for someone with so many ties to Arizona.
About Tyler Lauletta
Tyler is a editorial contributor at Awful Announcing, with previous stops at Sports Illustrated and Business Insider during his career covering sports in digital media. He is, begrudgingly, a Truster of the Process and general Philly sports sicko.