5/15/2023 0 Comments Lisa byingtonWe stay at great hotels, obviously, and you mentioned the charter flights. And that’s the only real responsibility you have. And really, the only thing you’re responsible for is making sure that you make the charter bus on time that’s going to the arena. Because, you know, media, when you get to the hotel, there’s always someone there handing a room key off to everyone. And I joke with people that it’s kind of ruined me for life, like, now when I travel for fun or for maybe another assignment or something, I’m going to - I’m going to think, wait, I have to actually check myself into the hotel, I have to wait in line. LISA BYINGTON: I did some Chicago Bulls stuff, and so I worked as a fill in for Neil Funk, so I’ve experienced kind of the team broadcasts and the travel and stuff, but to do it consistently, to your point, is a little bit different. I mean, do you look - now you’re getting on team planes, you’re traveling around, and I know you’ve been associated with networks, but this is your first real opportunity with a specific team, is that right? So, that’s a little bit of the timeline of the year that was. And I think the conversations maybe started in the spring, and it got a little bit more serious, obviously, after the NBA finals, because the Bucks I don’t think were making - and they shouldn’t have made it a priority to find their new voice when they’re trying to win a championship, and so then things really kind of picked up steam right after that, kind of end of July into August, that’s when I think the Bucks really sort of focused on filling that position. We started talking about goals and where I wanted to be and new challenges. In the spring and the summer, I think are my slowest months, and that’s when I had actually hired an agent. Things started to slow down after the NCAA tournament, right. And I hadn’t - because I’m so busy, you know, with everything else that I was doing at that point, I didn’t really translate, like, that could be something that I could apply for at that time. And I thought to myself, wow, you know, Jim has been there for so many years, 35 years, you know, I can’t believe that job is going to be open. And that was, like, in January or February, it was something that - really early in the beginning of 2021. LISA BYINGTON: Just to go back just a little bit, you know, I was on my phone, and I was looking on Twitter and the interview exchange between Giannis and Jim Paschke popped up, and I just thought it was such a genuine and awesome interview where Giannis was introducing the fact, I think for the first time to Bucks’ fans, that this was going to be Jim’s last year. GREG MATZEK: I’m always curious about people’s past to get where they are, I want to accelerate yours a little bit, although I do have some very interesting questions about the Big Ten Network, because you stated there at time when it was becoming a thing, but your opportunity with the Bucks, when was this on your radar as like, okay, this is a legit idea? I know sometimes it starts with like an agent conversation, but somebody brings an idea to you and you kind of have to take it and run with it from there, when did that opportunity present itself? Listen to the full interview in the player above.Ī portion of the conversation was transcribed below, courtesy of eCourt Reporters, Inc. The play-by-play broadcaster is the first female to hold that role full-time in the NBA.īyington recently sat down with WTMJ’s Greg Matzek to talk about her journey to Milwaukee. Because it’s time.Lisa Byington is midway through her first season with the Bucks. In fact, I applaud the Bucks for taking the first steps toward making hires like this more of the norm in the NBA. "I understand the groundbreaking nature of this hire, and I appreciate the fact that during this process that aspect was addressed, but never made a primary focus. “I’m absolutely thrilled for this opportunity, and the ability to work with a first-class franchise and a championship organization like the Milwaukee Bucks,” Byington said in a news release. A former varsity basketball and soccer player at Northwestern, Byington also does play-by-play work for the WNBA's Chicago Sky. This past spring, she became the first woman in the history of CBS and Turner Sports to do play-by-play for men's NCAA Tournament games. Her credits for Fox include women's World Cup games in 2019. She worked for NBC Sports during the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, calling play-by-play of men's and women's soccer. Lisa Byington interviews Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self for TNT after the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.īyington, 45, has worked as a play-by-play announcer, studio host and reporter for CBS, Turner Sports, Fox and the Big Ten Network during her broadcasting career.
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