The National Sports Media Association (NSMA) today announced that Memphis Grizzlies television play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica of FOX Sports Southeast was voted the 2017 Tennessee State Sportscaster of the Year, his first NSMA State Sportscaster of the Year award.
Pranica will be honored alongside NSMA Hall of Fame inductees Thomas Boswell, Woody Durham, Bryant Gumbel and Dick Weiss, 2017 National Sportscaster of the Year Kevin Harlan, 2017 National Sportswriter of the Year Adrian Wojnarowski and members in each state (plus the District of Columbia) selected as Sportscasters and Sportswriters of the Year during the 59th annual NSMA Awards Weekend, June 23-25, 2018 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Coincidentally, Pranica and Harlan both began their play-by-play careers as high school students at WGBP-FM, a 10-watt student station at what was then Premontre High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin (currently Notre Dame Academy).
Currently in his 14th season with the Grizzlies, Pranica is a six-time finalist for Tennessee State Sportscaster of the Year and has been involved in three Emmy-winning productions: two as a commentator for NBC at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and one with the Grizzlies.
Now calling his 25th season of NBA action, Pranica began his career in the NBA in 1990 by calling select radio games for the Detroit Pistons and in 1998 joined the Portland Trail Blazers, first serving as their radio host and television sideline reporter before taking on television play-by-play duties alongside the late Steve “Snapper” Jones in 1999. Since coming to Memphis in 2004, Pranica has also provided the call for a variety of events including C-USA and SEC basketball, the Southern Heritage Classic football game, SEC and ACC soccer, Memphis Tigers basketball and Memphis Redbirds (AAA) baseball. He also is a member of the NBA’s Officiating Advisory Council.
There were 39 first-time winners of the state awards. Pranica is one of three NBA team play-by-play announcers to win a state award, joining fellow first-time winners Marc Zumoff (Philadelphia 76ers) and Eric Reid (Miami Heat). He is just the second Memphis winner of the Sportscaster of the Year award, joining George Mooney of WMPS in 1959, the first year of the award.
About the National Sports Media Association:
The National Sports Media Association & Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which seeks to develop educational opportunities for those who are interested in pursuing a career in sports media, through networking, interning, mentoring and scholarship programs.
The NSMA also honors, preserves and celebrates the diverse legacy of sports media in the United States.
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