Charlotte Hornets TV announcer Eric Collins calls play by play for the network. Collins replaced Steve Martin after the 2014-15 season.
Bally Sports, formerly known as Fox Sports Networks, has been the official broadcasting partner of the Hornets since the late 1980s. Although they are yet to win an NBA Championship, their fanbase follows the game passionately.
Steve Martin called Charlotte games on the channel for 25 years before returning to radio in 2015. Since then, Collins has been doing the job.
Although there have been significant changes to the team's broadcasting panel in between, the faces on the television have remained constant.
The 2023 broadcasters of the Hornets remained the same with an addition of a new analyst. They continue to provide detailed match updates, insightful commentary, and expert analysis for the viewers.
Charlotte Hornets Commentators List
Hornets Commentators over the years are:
- Dell Curry (2009 - present)
- Stephanie Ready (2015-19)
- Henry Williams (2004-09)
- Mike Gminski (1999-2002)
- Gil McGregor (1992-2002)
- Gerry Vaillancourt (1990-2002)
- Mike Pratt (1988-90)
Dell Curry
Dell Curry, the father of NBA stars Steph Curry and Seth Curry, joined the Hornets media panel in 2009. It was Charlotte Bobcats at that time.
He shared the desk with Steve Martin from 2009 to the end of the 2014-15 season. As mentioned earlier, Steve then bid adieu to the network.
Dell then welcomed a commentary partner, Stephanie Ready, at the start of the 2015-16 season. The two share workloads until the 2018-19 season. While Ready has left the network, Curry continues to carry on his legacy.
But before his broadcast role with the team, Dell was initially welcomed as the Bobcats' assistant coach. He had agreed to the deal on June 18, 2007, but stepped aside before the season began.
Dell was focused on attending his two sons' basketball games. Hence, he left the position but returned soon in the commentary role.
Moreover, Curry Sr. is also a former NBA player who spent 16 seasons with 5 different teams in the league. Dell initially made a mark playing college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies from 1982 to 1986.
He was then picked 15th overall by Utah Jazz at the 1986 NBA draft. He played one season with them and was traded to the Cavaliers.
Curry played ten seasons with the Hornets from 1988 to 1998 and one season each with the Bucks and Raptors before retiring in 2002. He is a former all-time leader in points at 9,839 and three-point field goals made at 929 in the Hornets' history.
Dell was actually selected by the Texas Rangers in the 1982 Major League Baseball draft. But he opted to play college basketball for the Hokies.
Charlotte Hornets Broadcasters
Hornets broadcasters are:
- Eric Collins
- George Lynch
Eric Collins (play-by-play)
Eric Collins was announced as the Charlotte Hornets play by play announcer on August 27, 2015. The team of Curry and Ready welcomed him on the desk, and he has continued his way to date.
Meanwhile, with each passing season, the duo of Collins and Curry has become a fan favorite. Their impressive years of experience in the field, alongside Collins' child-like glee during big moments, make them stars.
His reaction after each big dunk on the NBA court has made him social media sensation time and again. Likewise, before his tenure with Bally Sports, Eric called play-by-play announcing for Fox College Hoops.
Collins took over the Big Ten Network announcer duties for college football and basketball in August 2010 till he switched to the Hornets.
He graduated from St. Lawrence University and received his Master's degree in Public Communications from Syracuse University. Eric started his broadcasting career in 2002 for ABC's college football as a fill-in announcer.
George Lynch (analyst)
The newest edition to the long-run trio of the Hornets is George Lynch. Bally Sports in October 2022 confirmed that Lynch was hired to be an analyst for the network’s Hornets LIVE pre and postgame shows.
George joined the reporters' desk to assist them with his analytical findings for the team and their games. He made his TV debut on October 21, 2022, in a special one-hour edition of Hornets LIVE pre-game.
His entrance to the broadcast team was a beneficial point for the Bally Sports board room due to his prior experience as an NBA player. He played in the league from 1993 to 2005.
A member of the North Carolina Tar Heels, George captained his varsity team to the 1993 NCAA National Championship. He was picked 12th overall by the Lakers at the 1993 NBA Draft.
George Lynch played with four teams during his career, first with the Lakers for three seasons, the Grizzlies from 1996 to 1998, the 76ers from 1999 to 2001, the Hornets from 2001 to 2002, and the New Orleans Hornets from 2002 to 2005.
After his retirement, he looked after his non-profit, Flight Nine Basketball, till 2010. Lynch also joined the Southern Methodist University men's basketball team as their administrative assistant/graduate manager in 2006.
George also had brief stints with UC Irvine and SMU before becoming the head coach of Clark Atlanta University from 2018 to 2020.
Charlotte Hornets Sideline Reporter
Ashley ShahAhmadi joined Bally Sports during the 2019-20 season. Ashley is flexible in performing the role of host and reporter as well.
She had left her job at Turner Sports to grab her dream job of reporting NBA for Fox Sports. Before her stint at TNT as a small-time reporter for high school baseball games, she also covered track meets at the local ABC affiliate in Jackson.
Ashley initially joined the Atlanta-based Fox Sports South in May 2019 as a digital host and producer. She was promoted to cover the pre-and post-game of Hornets home games four months later.
And when the longtime Hornets sideline reporter/analyst Stephanie Ready left her position, Ashley got her dream job as a full-time employee.
ShahAhmadi was born on 23 June 1992 to an Iranian father and an American mother. She has two brothers named Aryon and Brandon.
All three grew up as basketball fans, but Ashley hoped to become an NBA sideline reporter since she was in the seventh grade. She and her family were at a game of Atlanta Hawks and got fascinated with a female sideline reporter there.
Ashley attended the University of Georgia and obtained her bachelor's degree in Digital Media and Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Communication Studies.
Since 2019 came as a breakthrough year for her, ShahAhmadi has not looked behind. Besides Bally Sports, she also works as an SEC football host on CBS Sports and a correspondent on Country Music Television.
Charlotte Hornets Radio Announcers
Sam Farber is the current announcer on the Charlotte Hornets Radio network. Sam has been calling play-by-play since the 2021-22 season.
He left his broadcasting duties at Fox Sports West, now known as Bally Sports West, in Los Angeles for his current position. Farber covered high school football and basketball on Fox Sports West, Fox Sports Prep Zone, and Fox Sports Go in Los Angeles from 2014 to 2020.
In the meantime, between 2014-20, he was also a part of the ESPN broadcast team covering professional basketball, football, and baseball.
Prior to his venture with top-notch media houses, Sam was a part-time national sports anchor at Fox Sports Radio from 2016 to 2017. He started his career as a broadcast engineer in 2006 at KNX 1070 NEWS RADIO.
Since then, he became a notable staff of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, KLIV AM 1590, iBN Sports, Inland Empire 66ers baseball team, and Fox Sports, among many other companies in his career.
Sam Farver graduated from George Washington University in 2006 with a degree in Mathematics and Journalism. Meanwhile, he earned his Master's degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California.
