Wolves announcer Michael Grady joins ESPN’s NBA play-by-play rotation

Timberwolves play-by-play announcer Michael Grady has joined ESPN’s rotation of NBA broadcasters, according to Michael McCarthy Front Office Sports.

To be clear, this does not mean Grady is leaving Minnesota. His primary role will still be Wolves games on Bally Sports North, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson confirms, but will also chip in on national broadcasts when his schedule allows. Grady called the Wolves’ preseason game against the Knicks on ESPN on Sunday night.

This expansion into a national role seemed inevitable for Grady, who has quickly established himself as one of the best play-by-play broadcasters in the NBA since joining the Wolves and Bally Sports North two years ago. Fans in Minnesota overwhelmingly agree with Grady, whose arrival in 2022 coincided with Anthony Edwards’ rise to superstardom and one of the best eras in Timberwolves franchise history. He has previously done some games on TNT as well as some national WNBA broadcasts.

This also doesn’t mean that Grady will eventually leave the Wolves entirely. Mike Breen, ESPN’s No. 1 play-by-play announcer, still does Knicks games on MSG Network as often as he can. The same goes for Ian Eagle, who broadcasts Nets games on YES Network when he’s not doing TNT broadcasts. Even if Grady takes a prominent role at ESPN, he can theoretically continue to broadcast the vast majority of Wolves games on BSN or whatever future network the team partners with.

Grady joins Breen, Ryan Ruocco, Dave Pasch and Mark Jones in ESPN’s PBP rotation. The Wolves have 10 scheduled broadcasts on ESPN or ABC this season.

Before being hired by the Wolves, Grady worked for YES Network as a sideline reporter, anchor and backup play-by-play announcer for Nets games. He replaced Dave Benz in Minnesota.

The Wolves open the season on NBA Opening Night (Tuesday, Oct. 22) on TNT, so Grady’s first broadcast of the regular season will be this Thursday in Sacramento.