How Toronto Raptors announcer Matt Devlin ended up calling other NBA playoff games
Toronto Raptors fans might’ve been a bit taken aback this week when flipping through the channels.
The franchise’s main play-by-play voice since 2008, working with both TSN and Sportsnet, Matt Devlin has been on the call for parts of the opening round Miami Heat-Cleveland Cavaliers series for NBA TV this year.
“It’s always great to get an opportunity to call postseason games. And certainly fortunate enough that this opportunity came along,” Devlin said in an interview with Offside. “If you’re a basketball fan, you just love those moments and embrace it… just the energy in the building, the excitement, the level of play, the adjustments throughout an entire game.”
Approached a few months ago with the possibility of keeping his season alive a little longer by the network’s executives, Devlin jumped at the opportunity to call a few more games.
“The great thing about the NBA is that all these storylines come along [during the regular season], and so you follow that, and then just following the postseason to see how you know that unfolds,” Devlin said.
While most NBA local TV announcers see their season replaced by larger national teams come playoff time, starting in the second round, the Raptors’ broadcasts are unique in that they have been able to continue throughout the postseason when the team is still in it.
Since both Sportsnet and TSN broadcasts are national in Canada, the Raptors broadcasts remain largely unchanged for Canadians come playoff time, even though American networks may also be showing the games on a separate feed.
But with the Raptors going through a 30-52 season this year that saw them nine games back of a play-in berth, Devlin’s only chance to work the playoffs was to go out of market.
Devlin admitted that he isn’t quite sure how many games he’ll end up calling in the first round, as is the nature of the NBA playoffs.
“You’re on call, you’re packed for a couple of weeks,” Devlin said. “Whether it’s one, two, three, four, or five games, enjoy the ones that you get, and be appreciative for it. And that’s certainly the way I feel…. whether we stay in the series or go to another series, it’s kind of just based upon how the week plays out.”
While his focus on the NBA has shifted a little for the time being, he’s locked in on the Raptors’ offseason, with a possible major date in franchise history just a little over two weeks away circled in his calendar.
“The first thing on the radar with respect to the Raptors is definitely May 12, and then seeing exactly where they land in the [draft] lottery.”