If you’re an NBA fan in Toronto, Herbie Kuhn’s voice is likely a familiar one.
Kuhn has been the Raptors’ in-house announcer since 1995. Kuhn’s booming voice welcomes heavy hitters such as Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to court during home games at the Air Canada Centre.
As the Raptors kicked off their 21st season in Toronto this week, Kuhn was there to help pump up the crowd.
In a segment that aired on CTV’s Canada AM on Friday, Kuhn also helped host Marci Ien perfect her stadium announcer voice.
Kuhn also told Ien that it “felt great” to kick off the 2015-2016 season. He admitted the Raptors have seen a lot of “challenging” seasons, but added the team is building playoff momentum.
“And we’ve, of course, had a fair amount of success the last couple of seasons as well,” Kuhn said. “Where we don’t come into the season hoping to make the playoffs, we come into the season expecting to make the playoffs.”
Kuhn, who still uses a pencil and notepad to write down his introductions and rosters, arrives three hours ahead of a home game in order to rehearse.
If he’s not 100 per cent “convinced” about the pronunciation of a player’s name, “I will try to track down the player myself.”
After 20 years, Kuhn says he still loves the thrill of the job.
“One thing I love about this job is the fact that it’s live,” he said. “That when I make an announcement, everybody hears it the moment it comes out of my mouth.”
