The voice of Bucks TV answers your questions
Welcome back to the latest edition of our mailbag series, Questions & Antlers! Our latest special guest is the voice of the Bucks on TV: Lisa Byington! After Game 1 of the first-round series with Indiana, she took time out of all her prep work ahead of Game 2 to answer some reader questions below. Stay tuned for the last one, which is a real highlight…
(Editor’s note: this interview has been edited for clarity)
A play-by-play announcer has to have quicker thoughts than the pace of the game. Any tips on thinking more quickly for us casual fans or about time management?
Thinking quicker? I think you have to figure out what kind of “learner” you are. Visual? Writing things down? Once you get that, you can memorize/prep catering to those strengths. For example, I am a visual learner and a note-taker. Sometimes flashcards work best for me to learn a team/player (mostly for college games), sometimes watching film or the last game the opponent has played helps.
Time management? Make a list of non-negotiables. What do you absolutely have to do to make yourself feel prepared and ready. Some of my non-negotiables, watching the “last” game of the teams you’re covering, reading game notes, watching press conferences, reading 4–5 features on the teams/players.
Is it difficult switching between commentary partners? Bucks fans are quick to notice when the broadcast crew is different; what challenges exist when going from calling a game with Marques Johnson one day, and then Steve Novak the next day?
I get asked this a lot, and I actually don’t think too much about it, because only having two broadcast partners is actually the unusual situation for me. I grew up working in a lot of different sports, and having to adjust to a lot of different analysts. College basketball, for example, you could do four games in one week and work with four different people.
In TV, I see the broadcast as an “analyst’s sport;” unlike radio, you have the opportunity to go beyond what you “see” to teach the game more. So the analyst is that much more important on the TV side than on the radio side.
With any analyst I work with, I try to figure out what their personality is, what’s the best way to make them shine, and how we can succeed the best for our viewers.
I am fortunate that Marques and Steve are great partners with unique strengths and skill sets.
How do you have the energy to call so many games across so many different settings and environments? I follow you on Twitter and you keep us updated when you’re working PBP for something else… that’s a lot of work! Like, a LOT of work! So, how do you do it?
Since the Bucks have been so good the last few years, they are a desirable watch for TV, so we get about a dozen national exclusive games every regular season. What does that mean? It means the local “team” broadcasts get the night off, so those parts of the schedule provide me with some “windows” to look to schedule some college basketball games.
I just finished my fourth year as a play-by-play for the NCAA Tournament for the men’s tournament (seventh year working the tourney, factoring in sideline reporting), and I never want to be the person who doesn’t work a college game all year, and then drops into one of the most important events of the year.
Here’s the deal, though. I LOVE my job. So it has to be fun to scramble a bit and bounce between NBA and college, and for me, it is. That’s the most important thing… it’s fun! The opportunities are there, and I want to take advantage of them. I don’t stress out about the prep or travel. Life is too short for that. You just have to be “smart” with it all.
This year I got to call Giannis setting a franchise record, Iowa and Caitlin Clark winning the Big Ten Tournament title, Yale upsetting Auburn in the NCAA Tournament… if you don’t force yourself, or push yourself a bit, you can miss out on some great opportunities!
What are the differences and what are similarities in the demeanor of the Bucks under Budenholzer, Griffin, and Rivers? Is there anything you ascertain, seeing them on the court, on which team looked more confident or comfortable on the court?
Defense is the difference for all three of those head coaches. Under Bud, it was one of the tops in the league. Under Griff, the team was developing an identity. Under Doc, the team seems to have found some answers.
I’ll say this… practice time has been key for this Doc team. It was coming out of the All-Star Break, and I think this week off heading into the playoffs will also be really important. It’s almost like their preseason camp, though without a healthy Giannis and a limited Dame during that week. And yet, even without a full-strength roster on the practice court for that week, there’s something to be said about “pulling back,” walking through scenarios and situations, and having the time to breathe.
I can’t wait to see what this new Doc version of the Bucks presents for the playoffs. This is the most confident and comfortable I have been with the team this year.
I watch a lot of Bucks basketball (as so many of us asking these questions and reading the answers do), and I as much as anyone try to interpret the nuance in morale, chemistry, lineups, etc. But I’m super curious: from the perspective of someone so often right there on the court, watching the team and the players day in and day out, what have you seen over the course of the season (if anything) that gives you hope about this particular version of the Bucks team going into the playoffs?
You hear the players talk to the media about the challenges of the season, and I continue to be so impressed with the consistency of the results. Meaning: finishing top 3 in the Eastern Conference once again. Think about it… with three different coaches this year, injuries, the Bucks locked themselves in that 2 spot of the East through it all, until the last day of the regular season, when Giannis missed the last three games.
I am answering these questions after Game 1 vs the Pacers, so everyone is feeling pretty good after that outcome. But I’ll say this… we have a championship head coach who can relate to every player on the team, from superstar to sub. And he can speak their language. And they listen.
We have a veteran team that has seen it all. Championship celebrations to losing to an 8 seed while being a 1.
We have two Top 75 players, both are hungry to get (and return) to the NBA mountain top.
We have two of the largest comebacks in the NBA this season, which shows me the team’s fight and resiliency, as well as a no-quit attitude in the playoffs.
And… we have the best homecourt in the NBA. I love Fiserv and the energy Bucks fans have created. It’s OUTSTANDING!
Your tenure with the Bucks is notable because you’re the first woman to become a full-time play-by-play announcer for a major men’s pro sports team. Obviously, you’ve been doing the job for a while across multiple sports; does your position with the Bucks “feel” different because of that accomplishment?
I never think about that, until I’m asked about it. Because I never put on the headset and think “I’m a female broadcaster.” I put on the headset and think about the matchups, the game, the players, the coaches. I understand the responsibility that comes with this role, but if I thought about that all the time, I wouldn’t be able to do my job all the time. I hope someday, we can lose the adjectives “first” and “female” to our labels of women in the sports world. But to do that, you have to have hires like this.
What does Marques Johnson smell like? And why?
I can honestly say I haven’t been asked this one before!
He smells like a Hall of Famer to me. A Naismith Hall of Famer. Let’s get that done, and continue to promote the great things he’s done for this game of basketball.
Major thanks to Lisa for stopping by during one of her busiest times of the year. Be sure to follow her on Twitter @LisaByington. We’ll have more Q&As with special guests as long as the Bucks are in the playoffs, then again in the offseason as we can. Keep an eye out!