The Portland Trail Blazers have found their next television voice, and it’s Braiden Bell.
Multiple team sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Bell will take over as the club’s new play-by-play announcer, stepping into one of the most visible jobs in the organization after Kevin Calabro’s departure over the summer. Bell, 29, comes in after calling games for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the G League’s Valley Suns, and he’ll join color commentator Lamar Hurd and courtside reporter Brooke Olzendam on the Rip City Television Network broadcast.
The decision came after a broad search that drew interest from broadcasters with NBA play-by-play backgrounds and people who had worked at “flagship sports news” stations, according to team sources. The Blazers narrowed that field to four semifinalists and then to two finalists: Bell and former Sacramento Kings play-by-play voice Kyle Draper. In the end, Bell’s on-air presence, his fit with Hurd, his versatility and his willingness to do more than just call games separated him from the pack.
“Braiden is a rising talent and everyone is excited to have him,” one team source said. “We had a big pool of people express interest in the job and there was a lot of talent and experience.
But he really stood out. One of the biggest parts of this is chemistry and Braiden and Lamar had great chemistry.
I think people will be able to see that immediately. We just felt he was a good fit.”
Another team source pointed to Bell’s understanding of Portland and what the Blazers mean to the city.
“He understands the power of this community, Portland’s connection to the Blazers, the history of the franchise and how impassioned our fans are,” one team source said. “He wants to become part of that community and even had ideas for how he could be more visible and approachable for fans. That’s huge.”
Bell is also expected to work with Olzendam on shoulder programming tied to the broadcast and take part in team appearances around Portland.
His rise has been fast. Bell graduated from Arizona State in 2019 and got his first professional play-by-play job at Cal Baptist, where he called games across seven sports, including men’s and women’s basketball.
He returned to Arizona in 2024 to work Sun Devils games for ESPN+ and Big 12 Now, and he also became the first play-by-play voice of the Valley Suns during the G League affiliate’s inaugural season, handling home games. That path eventually led him to the Mercury, where he split play-by-play duties with Ann Schatz.
Now, just seven years after college, Bell is taking over one of the most coveted jobs in pro sports.
He replaces Calabro, who spent more than 40 years calling NBA games and served as the Blazers’ TV voice for much of the past decade. Calabro became the centerpiece of a broadcast that grew to include a courtside reporter and analytics insider, but the setup changed after new owner Tom Dundon took control in March and pushed through a wave of cost-cutting moves. Calabro’s contract expired at the end of June, and after receiving what he described as a “subprime” extension offer, he chose to move on.
Bell won’t have long to settle in. The Blazers open the regular season Oct. 21 against the Phoenix Suns at Moda Center.
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