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Matt Devlin (sportscaster)

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Matt Devlin
Devlin at Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
CitizenshipUnited States (1969–present)
Canada (2019–present)
Alma materBoston College
OccupationSportscaster
Children3
Sports commentary career
TeamToronto Raptors
GenrePlay-by-play announcer
SportBasketball

Matt Devlin (born 1969) is a play-by-play TV announcer currently employed mainly by the Toronto Raptors of the NBA, having replaced Chuck Swirsky in 2008. His current on-air colour commentator partners are Alvin Williams and Jack Armstrong.

Broadcasting career

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Devlin started with NBA TV during its first season in 1999.[1] He then spent three years (2001–2004) as the lead play-by-play voice of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, and three years for the Charlotte Bobcats. He has also done play-by-play for the NBA on TNT and football and men's college basketball for Big Ten Network. For many years, he has provided commentary during the NBA Playoffs in the early rounds of the Western Conference. Also working for the NFL on Fox for play by play.

Devlin served as the play-by-play man for NBC Sports' coverage of Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[2]

In 2008, Devlin joined the Toronto Raptors as the team's play-by-play television announcer.[3]

Although employed by the Raptors organization, during the offseason he has occasionally served as a fill-in play-by-play announcer for both of the Raptors' broadcast partners, TSN and Sportsnet. This has included play-by-play for the CFL on TSN and for Sportsnet's coverage of the Rogers Cup (both in 2012),[4] and for Sportsnet's Toronto Blue Jays coverage in 2013, 2014, 2016,[5] 2017, 2022, and 2023. In addition, in the fall of 2011, during the NBA lockout, Devlin hosted the pre-game and post-game shows for Toronto Maple Leafs games on Leafs TV. (The Raptors and the Leafs are both owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which in turn is primarily owned by the parent companies of TSN and Sportsnet.)

Devlin is known for his catchphrase of describing 3-point shots as coming not from "downtown" but from the suburbs of Toronto, e.g. "He hits it from Mississauga!", "Drains it from Pickering!", "Banks it in from Burlington!" When Raptors fever swept across Canada during the team's run to the 2019 NBA championship, the shots started coming from the entire country: "From Edmonton!", "From Halifax!", "From Iqaluit!"[6]

Personal life

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A native of Syracuse, New York, Devlin graduated from Boston College with a communication major in 1990.[7] He has three sons, Jack, Ian and Luke, with his wife Erin.[8] Jack Devlin, who has special needs, served as a student manager for the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team from 2018 to 2022. He gained national attention when draining a shot from half-court in his final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.[9] Luke is a collegiate ice hockey player at Cornell and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Draft.

In 2019, Devlin became a Canadian citizen during the Raptors' NBA Finals run.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Feldman, Jacob. "During Toronto's Run, Raptors' Voice Matt Devlin Has Represented an Entire Country". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ Medium Well: Your NBC Olympics lineup Archived 2008-08-03 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Matt Devlin". TSN.
  4. ^ "Rogers Media Hits the Court for Multiplatform Coverage of the 2012 Rogers Cup, Free Preview of FX Canada during the event". ChannelCanada.com. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "Matt Devlin is on call for the Blue Jays, the Raptors . . ". The Toronto Star. 2016-08-02. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  6. ^ a b Feldman, Jacob. "The voice of the Raptors and his signature call". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  7. ^ Brotherston, Stephen. "Toronto Raptors' Matt Devlin: Never Give Up on a Dream". Bleacher Report.
  8. ^ "Devlin Named New Raptors Play-By-Play Man". Toronto Raptors.
  9. ^ "Watch: Iowa Hawkeyes student manager sinks half-court shot, mobbed by team". CBS News. March 2022.
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