B
Ben Anderson
Guest
SALT LAKE CITY – On Wednesday night, David Locke will call his 1,000th game as the radio voice of the Utah Jazz when the team hosts the Houston Rockets.
Though the Jazz have seen overhauls to the organization’s ownership, front office, coaching staff, and rosters over the last decade, Locke is one of the handful of faces that has remained steady with the team.
The former afternoon-drive host first took to the job with 1320 KFNZ in the summer of 2009 after the legendary “Hot Rod” Hundley announced he was stepping down as the longtime voice of the Jazz.
Hundley had been the voice of the Jazz for 35 seasons, beginning while the team played in New Orleans and following the franchise to Utah in 1979. That made Locke only the second radio voice for the Jazz since the team’s inception.
Though Hundley and Locke may share the same title, their approach to broadcasting couldn’t be more different. While Hundley’s distinctive West Virginia twang and colorful depictions of the action brought a certain downhome feel to the call, Locke’s commentary is unique across the NBA landscape as he brings a fast-paced, analytics-heavy approach to the broadcast.
Locke’s approach has mirrored the numbers-driven revolution that has reinvented the game of basketball over the decade and has helped keep Jazz fans educated on the modern vernacular.
Growing up in Utah, Locke tweeted that it was a dream of his to one day serve as the play-by-play voice of the Jazz, and is today actively fulfilling that fantasy.
But he also acknowledged how far he has to go before he catches Hundley or his partner Ron Boone who has been a staple of the Jazz broadcasts since 1988.
“[Boone] is completely unimpressed with 1,000,” Locke tweeted. “And to catch Hot Rod’s insane 3,051 I would have to be calling games in 2047.”
But that isn’t to say Locke hasn’t seen the Jazz through a series of highs and lows.
In 2009, Jerry Sloan was still the Jazz’s head coach, only to resign midway through Locke’s second season on the job, with then face of the franchise Deron Williams being shipped to New Jersey one week later.
After a stopgap season that saw the Jazz make the playoffs in 2013, Locke called games for a rebuilding franchise that missed the postseason over four consecutive seasons before returning to glory in 2017 under Quin Snyder.
To add context to Locke’s feat of reaching 1,000 games, only Karl Malone and John Stockton have been involved in more games with the franchise as players.
Before joining the Jazz, Locke was a sports radio host in Utah and Seattle and served as the play-by-play voice of the Utah Starzz and Seattle Storm of the WNBA and the Seattle Sonics prior to their move to Oklahoma City.
Locke also created the popular Locked On Podcasting Network in 2016 which was purchased by Tegna in 2021.
You can listen to Locke’s 1,000th broadcast tonight on The Zone Sports Network.
RELATED STORIES
Follow @benshoops
Full audio from 1280 the Zone...
Though the Jazz have seen overhauls to the organization’s ownership, front office, coaching staff, and rosters over the last decade, Locke is one of the handful of faces that has remained steady with the team.
The former afternoon-drive host first took to the job with 1320 KFNZ in the summer of 2009 after the legendary “Hot Rod” Hundley announced he was stepping down as the longtime voice of the Jazz.
Hundley had been the voice of the Jazz for 35 seasons, beginning while the team played in New Orleans and following the franchise to Utah in 1979. That made Locke only the second radio voice for the Jazz since the team’s inception.
Though Hundley and Locke may share the same title, their approach to broadcasting couldn’t be more different. While Hundley’s distinctive West Virginia twang and colorful depictions of the action brought a certain downhome feel to the call, Locke’s commentary is unique across the NBA landscape as he brings a fast-paced, analytics-heavy approach to the broadcast.
Locke’s approach has mirrored the numbers-driven revolution that has reinvented the game of basketball over the decade and has helped keep Jazz fans educated on the modern vernacular.
Growing up in Utah, Locke tweeted that it was a dream of his to one day serve as the play-by-play voice of the Jazz, and is today actively fulfilling that fantasy.
But he also acknowledged how far he has to go before he catches Hundley or his partner Ron Boone who has been a staple of the Jazz broadcasts since 1988.
“[Boone] is completely unimpressed with 1,000,” Locke tweeted. “And to catch Hot Rod’s insane 3,051 I would have to be calling games in 2047.”
But that isn’t to say Locke hasn’t seen the Jazz through a series of highs and lows.
In 2009, Jerry Sloan was still the Jazz’s head coach, only to resign midway through Locke’s second season on the job, with then face of the franchise Deron Williams being shipped to New Jersey one week later.
| @lockedonsports with the call on the game-winner
pic.twitter.com/jtZ5TdCv6i
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 10, 2020
After a stopgap season that saw the Jazz make the playoffs in 2013, Locke called games for a rebuilding franchise that missed the postseason over four consecutive seasons before returning to glory in 2017 under Quin Snyder.
To add context to Locke’s feat of reaching 1,000 games, only Karl Malone and John Stockton have been involved in more games with the franchise as players.
Before joining the Jazz, Locke was a sports radio host in Utah and Seattle and served as the play-by-play voice of the Utah Starzz and Seattle Storm of the WNBA and the Seattle Sonics prior to their move to Oklahoma City.
Locke also created the popular Locked On Podcasting Network in 2016 which was purchased by Tegna in 2021.
You can listen to Locke’s 1,000th broadcast tonight on The Zone Sports Network.
RELATED STORIES
Jazz Re-Sign Danuel House Jr. To 10-Day Contract
Jazz Offense Stalls In Ugly Loss To Lakers
Jazz Drop Fifth Game In Six Outings With Loss To Lakers
Follow @benshoops
Full audio from 1280 the Zone...