This weekend, play-by-play broadcaster Mike Gorman will call his final Boston Celtics regular season game on NBC Sports Boston. Boston mayor Michelle Wu is giving Gorman a send-off with an officially recognized ‘Mike Gorman Day’ in the city, and she will join the Celtics for a celebration at TD Garden for the team’s finale against the Washington Wizards.
Gorman has called Celtics games for 43 years, and fans will know his signature Northeast rasp and patient style as a broadcaster. Boston and the NBA have given Gorman a well-deserved farewell tour heading into Sunday’s finale.
Now, the city is doing its part.
https://twitter.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1778832822498636016
The 76-year-old Gorman will be replaced by 26-year-old Drew Carter next season, a plan put in place more than a year ago. This weekend has been a long time coming for everyone around NBC Sports Boston and the Celtics organization.
“I was really nervous taking over for the job. I put a lot of pressure on myself because I know how important the telecast is to people,” Carter told the New York Post. “I don’t want to do a Mike Gorman impression, but I also don’t want to be too different from him. I was trying to balance all that at once while still being authentic to myself.”
Gorman will call Celtics games beyond this weekend. NBA rules allow local networks to broadcast the postseason through the first round, guaranteeing Boston sports faithful at least four more games of Gorman.
After that, they will now have an annual reminder from the city of Boston of all his tremendous years in the booth.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.