Legendary Jazz Announcer Dan Roberts To Retire After Season
Sep 13, 2024, 10:00 AM
SALT LAKE CITY – Dan Roberts, the legendary in-arena voice of the Utah Jazz plans to retire at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Roberts has been the voice of the Jazz since the team relocated to Salt Lake City from New Orleans in 1979 and is the longest-serving public address announcer in the NBA.
Related: Jazz Note Statue Removed From Delta Center Plaza
Jazz Dan Roberts To Retire After 2024-25 Season
While many Jazz fans know Roberts as the in-arena voice of the team for the last 45 seasons, his time in Utah started well before that.
Roberts’ father, a physician, and mother, a nurse practitioner, left Ely, Nevada in 1952 to establish a life in Salt Lake City.
“It was dust city, and you could walk across the street and be out of town it was so small,” Roberts remembered of Ely. “So the end result of that was a move here. [Dad] joined the Veterans Hospital, and I was a punk kid at five years old.”
After graduating from Skyline High School, Roberts began working as a radio DJ alongside legendary broadcaster Grant Nielsen.
Nielsen had been the public address announcer for the ABA’s Utah Stars before accepting a job in Seattle, opening the door for Roberts to begin his legendary run.
Roberts voiced Stars games at the Salt Palace beginning in 1971 and stayed with the team until the franchise folded in 1976.
41 years ago today the iconic Indiana St vs Michigan St final in SLC! Bird vs Magic changed the game forever. Still, the highest rated basketball game college or pro. Dan Roberts, Jazz PA announcer did that game at Huntsman Ctr & still does Jazz games today @utahjazz #thebest
— Michael Smith (@themikesmithway) March 26, 2020
“Jerry Pimm, who was the coach back then of the University of Utah said, ‘Come up and do our games,’” Roberts recalled after his stint with the Stars ended. “I was there for that five-year period which was 1975-79 roughly, and that’s when I did the Final Four with [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson].”
In 1979, Sam Battistone, then the owner of the New Orleans Jazz decided to relocate the team to Salt Lake City, allowing Roberts to get back into professional basketball.
“I had a fairly decent resume when the Jazz came in and started,” Roberts said. “I had to audition and get through the usual procedures, but that’s when it all started.”
Roberts Saw Jazz Through Thick And Thin
Though the Jazz are now recognized as one of the most stable franchises in the NBA, that wasn’t the situation Roberts walked into when he first got the gig.
In 1982, the team drafted and immediately traded Dominique Wilkins to the Atlanta Hawks for John Drew, Freeman Williams, and $1 million, enough cash to keep the team functional as it struggled to pay the bills.
Even after the trade, the finances were tight.
“We had Adrian Dantley with us, who was one heck of a good player,” Roberts said.
“But it was advised by the people who were running the operation back then, don’t cash your checks until we make sure Adrian’s check clears.”
Roberts, An All-Star In His Own Right
It wasn’t until Larry and Gail Miller bought the Jazz in 1985, and the arrival John Stockton and Karl Malone that the team found stable footing.
After opening the Delta Center in 1991, the NBA awarded Utah the 1993 All-Star game, one of the highlights of Roberts’ career.
“The All-Star game with Karl and John getting the MVPs, that’s the best one I’ve ever seen.”
Malone finished with 28 points while Stockton dished out 15 assists as the West beat the East 135-132 in overtime.
Roberts again called the All-Star game at the Delta Center in 2023, and though the competition level didn’t match 1993, he didn’t take for granted the players he’s interacted with during his five decades in the NBA.
“I got a chance to meet LeBron [James], which was an absolutely amazing experience. I’ve also introduced Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] a bunch of times when he played,” Roberts said.
“You get around players of that stature and their historical value to the league and how it’s how it all has evolved, you get to a spot where you kind of smile every now and then relative to that experience.”
While Roberts has welcomed countless NBA legends to the Delta Center floor during his 45-year run, one interaction stands out above the rest.
“When Kobe [Bryant] played his last game here after I introduced him, he came up and fist bumped me, and that caught me way off guard,” Roberts remembered of the late Lakers superstar. “I was really touched by that. I was with him from the time he was a rookie, missing the three-point shots back there, to his last game here. So it was that was very, very significant.”
What Does Future Hold For Roberts In Retirement?
While Roberts is preparing to enter his final season, he’s got work left to do on and off the floor.
After he steps away from the microphone next summer, the familiar voice will keep working his day job as a designer at the eponymous Dan Roberts Kitchen and Bath.
“If I didn’t have the job, I’d have to go to work for my sweet wife, and I’m not up for that,” Roberts joked. “So I’m going to maintain my own employment if that’s okay.”
Roberts’ wife Jane, and the rest of his family will be tasked with helping Dan adjust to life without his Jazz responsibilities.
“They’re helping me get used to it,” Roberts admitted. “It’s been a major, major shock. It’s been such a habit and such a typically common occurrence, for it to come to a stop — I’m not fully acclimated yet.”
Have you heard?! Dan Roberts is now in @NBA2K!
Hear about Dan’s time on the mic + how it feels to be in a video game 🎮 pic.twitter.com/8eTZycLAKs
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) September 1, 2021
As he enters his final season with the Jazz, Roberts plans to enjoy the ride.
“I’ll get off the train when it stops and get on another train when it comes by.”
The Jazz season begins on October 23 when they host the Memphis Grizzlies. Roberts final regular season game will be on April 13 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Amid his final season, Roberts will help the Jazz find his replacement, a process that will begin in early 2025.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
