Kings hire veteran ESPN broadcaster Mark Jones to replace Grant Napear as play-by-play man
The Kings have hired Mark Jones of ESPN and ABC Sports to replace Grant Napear as their primary play-by-play announcer on NBC Sports California.
Jones will work alongside Kings TV color analyst Doug Christie beginning in the 2020-21 season, which is expected to start in December. Jones brings more than 30 years of experience and a history of memorable calls to the Kings’ broadcast team.
“We are delighted to welcome Mark to the Kings family and watch him partner with Doug to form a new, dynamic broadcast team for the franchise and its proud fans,” Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé said in a news release. “Throughout his impressive career, Mark has amassed a tremendous wealth of experience broadcasting some of the largest events this league has hosted. We are excited he has chosen to continue his career in Sacramento as we look towards the bright future of this organization.”
Jones recently represented ESPN in Orlando as a member of the network’s broadcast team for the 2019-20 NBA season restart. The Kings said Jones will continue as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN’s NBA and college football coverage while serving as the lead TV voice for the Kings.
The Kings said Jones will call a majority of the team’s games. The Kings will soon introduce an additional play-by-play announcer who will fill in when Jones is absent in addition to other pregame and postgame responsibilities on NBC Sports California.
“I am thrilled to join the Kings broadcast team,” Jones said. “During my years of covering the league extensively, Sacramento has always stood among the top for its passionate and deeply loyal fan base. I am thankful to Vivek and the organization for this incredible opportunity. My family and I are excited to move to Sacramento and become a part of the community.”
The Kings have been searching for a new play-by-play man since parting ways with Napear over the summer amid allegations of racial insensitivity. Napear’s 32-year run on Sacramento’s airwaves ended in June after he set off a social media firestorm with his response to a question about Black Lives Matter from former Kings All-Star DeMarcus Cousins. Napear was fired by Sports 1140 KHTK and resigned from his television job with the Kings after telling Cousins “ALL LIVES MATTER,” a Tweet that drew pointed insinuations from Cousins and other former Kings players such as Chris Webber and Matt Barnes.
Sources said there was strong interest in the Kings’ play-by-play job after Napear resigned. Jones emerged as the top candidate after multiple rounds of interviews in recent weeks.
Jones is a native of Toronto who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from New York University, where he was an all-conference basketball player. Before joining ESPN and ABC Sports, he worked for The Sports Network in Toronto from 1986-90.
Jones has held a wide range of assignments since starting at ESPN in 1990. From 1991-96 and 2007-10, he hosted SportsCenter’s coverage of the NBA Finals. He called play-by-play for the 2011 NBA Finals on ESPN 3D. He has also contributed to the network’s coverage of NBA All-Star events, the NBA Draft Lottery and the NBA Draft.
Jones previously hosted ESPN’s NBA Today and occasionally served as an anchor on SportsCenter. Jones has also been assigned to numerous events on ABC since 1990, including college football, college basketball, the World League and various events on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
“Mark is an exceptional NBA broadcasting talent, as evidenced by his long and successful career on both a national and local level,” NBC Sports Bay Area/California Senior Vice President Matt Murphy said. “We’re thrilled to bring Mark on board and look forward to pairing him up with Doug for our expert Kings coverage beginning this season.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Kings hire veteran ESPN broadcaster Mark Jones to replace Grant Napear as play-by-play man."
