Michael Grady and Ros Gold-Onwude
Credit: WWOR
A young crop of announcers is popping up on many of the biggest games of the sports calendar. While most of the attention gets paid to how they sound or what their reference points are, rising stars like NBC and Amazon’s Michael Grady also bring a different kind of relationship to the audience.
Grady’s focus, from YES Network to Minnesota Timberwolves broadcasts to the big time at NBC and Prime Video, has always been basketball. It is a play-by-player’s dream sport, but it can also put viewers in a lull.
Many of the most evocative announcers in sports history became popular on basketball for this reason. And in a recent interview on the Sports Media Watch podcast, Grady explained how he uses the flow and highlight moments of a great hoops game to reach through the television and connect with a modern viewer. These days, that means getting them to look up from their phone and actually watch the game.
“We’re in the day and age where there are so many distractions. There was a day time where, when the game was on or, whether it’s a movie, TV show, whatever, we were just sitting and we were just watching it,” Grady explained.
Aware of how easy it is to get sucked into a different form of entertainment in 2025, Grady overtly tries to win back attention.
“Nowadays, you’re on your cellphone looking at something,” he added.
“You could be reading something, you could be on social media, and the game is on. The game is on, but your attention is elsewhere. So I think your better play-by-play announcers, just with their tone and meeting the moment, can make you go … ‘What just happened?’ As opposed to someone who’s monotone, and you wouldn’t even know. ‘Touchdown. Touchdown.’ It sounds monotone. Or it’s a big play or a sequence or an amazing crossover, whatever it may be. I’m gonna let you know, something just happened. And you need to put the phone down for a second.”
So Grady bucks against the idea that announcers should save up their biggest calls for the end of a game. He wants viewers to connect with each great play, no matter the supposed importance.
Another thing that Grady is keyed into that his elders did not worry about is that his calls are etched into digital history on every highlight that winds through social media. Far from being dubbed over each night on SportsCenter, Grady and his colleagues at the top of their sports have to bring their best for the inevitable time when a big call ends up saved on a Reddit thread or YouTube compilation someday.
“You’ve gotta be ready to meet that moment,” Grady said. “And when that play is circulated on social media, people don’t necessarily look at what time it happened. They’re looking at the play. And my call should make sense with what happened.”
Like Anthony Edwards on a heater with Grady on the call in Minneapolis, the announcer likened this mentality to a flow state for an athlete. Grady works hard to feel the energy of a game and channel it into the microphone straight to fans at home.
When he can pull it off, those big, look-up-from-your-phone moments aren’t manufactured but a natural byproduct of what is happening on the court.
Former President George W. Bush joins Peyton and Eli Manning on the 'ManningCast' during Cowboys-Raiders Monday Night Football. Photo Credit: ESPN2
Former President George W. Bush joins Peyton and Eli Manning on the 'ManningCast' during Cowboys-Raiders Monday Night Football. Photo Credit: ESPN2