Raptors announcer Matt Devlin making the most out of summer-hijacking injury

When the Toronto Raptors made their first-round pick in last month’s NBA Draft, it was clear as day that they’d nabbed themselves someone who was already destined to be a star.

Now, whether he’ll be a star on the court is yet to be seen, but it’s clear that fans far and wide have fallen all over the off-court persona of Toronto draft pick Gradey Dick, garnering as much — if not more — attention for his flashy red Wizard of Oz-inspired suit and TikTok dances as his on-court abilities.

Then, of course, there’s the worst-kept secret about why he’s got an added appeal: as much as anyone’s tried to be mature about it, he’s got quite the, well, unique surname.

Much of the thought process among Toronto fans upon Dick’s selection went to Matt Devlin, the play-by-play voice of the team since 2008, and how he’d handle the team’s newest rising talent when calling out his name on next season’s broadcasts.

“A buddy of mine sent me on draft night that I was trending in Canada [on Twitter] because everybody can’t wait to hear my calls with Gradey, right?” Devlin said in an interview with Daily Hive. “Obviously, there was quite a bit of comments made on Twitter… I look forward to seeing how all of it ultimately plays out.”

Devlin says as of today, he’s not quite sure what he’ll have cooking next season; he’s only planned calls twice in his career, both of which were in Games 1 and 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals to shout out Canadian capital cities and hometowns of Canadian NBA players.

And on a broadcast known for the odd joke or two, Devlin said he’s hoping they’re able to keep their calls professional.

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Devlin chuckled when asked if he thought Jack Armstrong would contain his laughter when calling out the new Raptors youngster’s surname. “I would think so.”

Plans, it seems, can get highjacked pretty easily.

Devlin had plenty this summer: a trip to the NHL Draft in Nashville — where Devlin went to high school, coincidentally — to support a family friend, and a golfing trip with his father and brother to Ireland to check out some of the world’s best courses.

But during a routine workout, Devlin dropped a weight on his foot, causing himself to be in recovery mode over the last month following time spent in and out of hospitals to fix up the injury.

My off-season workout clearly didn’t go as planned 🤣 (Don’t drop 35 lbs on your foot!). After surgery, my summer work & personal plans changed. I look forward to be back up & running @Raptors training camp. Keep moving forward & have a great day! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/sf0Blj2huI

— Matt Devlin (@Matt__Devlin) June 6, 2023

“It ended up being a little more in-depth than I had hoped, but such is life when you drop a 35-pound plate on your foot,” Devlin said. “Life throws you different curveballs and you deal with it along the way and certainly could have been a lot worse and I’m just happy that things are headed in the right direction… there’ll be another golf trip along the way someplace sometime.”

With the Raptors’ offseason being a long one due to the team’s failure to make the playoffs, Devlin found himself prior to the injury in the Sportsnet Blue Jays broadcast booth for a few games alongside Buck Martinez, a man Devlin proclaims as a “legend.” A few more calls on the Blue Jays broadcast were also sidelined by Devlin’s injury, though he relished the experience he did get to have this summer.

Heading to the ballpark in St. Pete for Game 2 of @BlueJays⁩ 7 game road trip. What an honour to work with the great Buck Martinez last night for the first time. #Nextlevel pic.twitter.com/QIdQUzRsnH

— Matt Devlin (@Matt__Devlin) May 23, 2023

“It’s always great to be in a broadcast booth at a ballpark,” Devlin added.

Away from his work, Devlin’s finding the time to catch up with his three adult sons: Jack, part of the University of Iowa men’s basketball staff; Ian, set to go play hockey at Princeton; and Luke, a 2022 Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick set to feature at the team’s development camp this week before heading to Cornell.

“I’m just really proud of all three of them and their accomplishments,” Devlin said. “And how hard they work on a daily basis to achieve their dreams and their goals.”

Travelling on the road frequently while chasing the Raptors around the NBA’s other markets, Devlin credits his wife Erin for managing their children’s schedules over the years.

“That was just a tremendous amount of sacrifice on her part to get them to the places that they needed to be in order to ultimately achieve what they wanted to… she always had the minivan loaded up.”

While his foot is still on the mend, Devlin is aiming to be back on the broadcast at this month’s GloblJam U23 international basketball tournament in Toronto, before returning to his regular duties with TSN and Sportsnet calling the Raptors this fall.

“I’m excited obviously, to see Gradey Dick as a shooter. It’s something that the Raptors needed, I think he’s really going to help out the offence,” Devlin said. “The Raptors have always relied on internal growth. And so I’m excited to see Scottie Barnes and to see where his game is elevated to.”

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