Warriors radio play-by-play announcer TIM ROYE is entering his 22nd season with the team, and this weekend he’ll be heading north of the border for the 5th annual NBA Canada Series to cover a preseason game against the Raptors on Saturday afternoon. In ’15, Roye called the fourth championship season in the Warriors’ history, culminating in a Game 6 win over the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. “It was an honor calling that game as it’d been 40 years since our fans had been able to celebrate a championship,” Roye said. This season the Warriors are transitioning to a new radio station and network for the first time in 32 years, moving from KNBR-AM to KGMZ-FM. It’s a significant change, but Roye said, “They’re thrilled to have us on board and I’m excited about it.”
DOING HIS HOMEWORK: Wednesday and Thursday I was at practice to get a feel for the new players on the team. All the drafted players and the guys who’ve been invited to camp out of college are guys I haven’t gotten a chance to see play a lot. New players you have to learn the nuances of what they like to do. I’ve been getting their bios down and getting my charts ready. Last night I started breaking down the Raptors’ roster to take a look at some of the moves they made this offseason. It’s all about seeing the guys they have coming back and what type of year they’re expecting and breaking down some of the numbers from last year on them. Really just making sure when we get to Vancouver, I’m not cramming for a test essentially.
GAME PREP: It’s a lot of reading, a lot of getting that background work in so a small story, anecdote or number can help flesh out the broadcast so it’s not just this team scored so and so. I read everything from scouting reports to player backgrounds. There’s so much more out there now than there was before. It used to be you might get a couple of magazines and make a few calls and talk to a few coaches and get background. But now there’s so much information out there, you really have to sift through it and be much more of an editor. There’s only a certain amount of information you can get in on a broadcast, especially on radio. You have to pinpoint the information you want to share with your audience.
CLASH OF KINGS: I’m a big reader of history and biographies. Currently I’m reading a book about the emperors of Rome. TV-wise, you cannot go wrong with "GAME OF THRONES." I’m really gonna miss (former Warriors F) HARRISON BARNES because we used to always get together on the plane or after practice and talk about it. I try to work out each weekend to stay active as well.
