Behind the Scenes: Bucks play-by-play announcer Lisa Byington

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Lisa Byington came to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, becoming the first woman play-by-play announcer for a professional men's team. She knows "first" and "female" go with the territory of her accomplishments, but when she sits down in the broadcast booth at Fiserv Forum, it's not as a woman, but as a broadcaster. CBS 58 got the chance go behind the scenes to see what that job is like.

Before the game, Byington covers a lot of ground.

Lisa Byington (credit: CBS 58)

"Just hours before the chaos," she said. 

Whether it's on-court saying hello to former Buck and current Toronto Raptor Jordan Nwora.

"We wish you well tonight, but not too much," she said with a smile.

To the coaches' press conferences, getting in some pregame questions.

"Where do you feel like he's taken advantage of those?" she asked of Nwora's opportunities with the team.

"Really, maybe about two and a half hours before tip, it's really just kind of like go, go, go and you never look back until the final buzzer," she said.

Byington calls the atmosphere at Fiserv electric.

"I love calling home games here," she said. 

Fans have gotten to know her as the Bucks play-by-play announcer, where she works the game from some of the best seats in the house, in the broadcast booth.

"I swear, if you lined up 20 play-by-plays in a row, they all would have a different system," she said. 

Her system involves a lot of meticulous notes, production calls, and watching games.

"I read a lot of feature stories. You look at stats," she explained.

All to be ready when the lights go on for the pregame show.

"Milwaukee Bucks basketball on WMLW the M. Marques, Lisa and Melanie with you," she said, as the show started, introducing Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks, who are on the broadcast team with Byington.

Byington is thinking about stats and storylines. There's one thing she's not thinking about.

Lisa Byington (credit: CBS 58)

"When I sit down and about to broadcast the Bucks, I put on my headset, I'm thinking I'm a broadcaster, I'm not thinking that I'm a female broadcaster," she said.

Byington came to the Bucks as the first woman to be a fulltime play-by-play announcer in men's professional sports.

"Alright Bucks fans, it's time for that rebounding win," she said during the pregame show. 

But her path here started long before.

"I think it's important to know that you don't just roll out of bed and become an NBA announcer. Like there's a lot of hours, a lot of grunt work. There's a lot of- is this worth it or not," she simply stated.

Byington was a two-sport athlete at Northwestern University, playing both soccer and basketball.

Lisa Byington (credit: CBS 58)

Her first TV job was in Alpena, Michigan.

"It was one of the smallest markets in the country. And I made $14,000 a year," she said.

A decidedly unglamorous start.

From there, she spent 10 years in East Lansing, Michigan at WLNS-TV.

"Was in the right place at the right time in a Big Ten city when Big Ten network began. And that's when I started doing more regional, national work," she said. 

From there she started calling college football, sideline reporting, doing play-by-play during the NCAA tournament.

"You have a passion for the job, it'll eventually take you where you want to go," Byington said.

And that's where she is now.

When the lights go off, the show begins.

The game underway, and Byington gets to work.

"You have the opportunity to play a small part, in a small narration, on a little bit of Milwaukee Bucks history, is something that I'm so grateful for," she said.

Lisa Byington (credit: CBS 58)