Clippers’ Radio Voice Is Looking Smart Now

The Clippers’ successful run through the first round of the NBA playoffs is providing some recognition for longtime broadcaster Ralph Lawler, who is completing his 27th season with the team.

It is also proving that Matt Pinto, the team’s first-year radio announcer, isn’t crazy after all.

When Pinto, the television voice of the Dallas Mavericks, decided to take the radio job with the Clippers, there were those who questioned his sanity.

“Yeah, my brother-in-law in San Diego told me I was nuts,” Pinto said.

Joe Shaw, the brother of Pinto’s wife Elizabeth, is a longtime Clipper follower.

Pinto, sounding like a real estate agent, said the move had a lot to do with location.

“I love the beach,” he said. “It was mostly a lifestyle decision.”

Pinto, 43, a graduate of San Dieguito High in Encinitas, began his broadcasting career at age 18 in Southern California. He first worked at radio station KIQQ in Hollywood and later at KFOX in Redondo Beach.

Pinto wanted to get back to Southern California, but that wasn’t the only reason for taking the Clipper job.

“I really thought the Clippers were going to be better,” he said. “I knew Sam Cassell was going to have a positive impact. I knew Cuttino Mobley was another good addition.”

The Lakers’ new radio voice, Spero Dedes, came to town amid much fanfare. Pinto’s arrival went virtually unnoticed.

How important is a Clipper radio announcer, anyway? For one thing, the games are relegated to a political talk station, 1150.

But Pinto is sensational. He not only paints a perfect word picture, he adds just the right amount of emotion and excitement. The Clippers no longer employ a radio commentator, but Pinto doesn’t need one.

Unfortunately, Pinto’s season may be ending. He’ll only work games during the second round carried nationally by ESPN. With TNT, because of an exclusivity arrangement, any second-round games it carries cannot be televised by a local outlet.

With the Clippers, TV announcers Lawler and Michael Smith move over to radio when there is no local telecast. ESPN’s exclusivity doesn’t kick in until the conference finals.

Pinto said he knew at an early age, while growing up in Boston, that he wanted to be a play-by-play announcer. Before his senior year of high school, he moved with his family to Encinitas. Rather than go to college, he went to a broadcasting school in Los Angeles.

At KFOX, Pinto did a sports talk show with Fred Wallin. KFOX at the time was a station where anyone could buy airtime and get on the air for about $100 an hour. Bud Furillo and Steve Hartman were once a team at KFOX, as were Larry Kahn and Mike Lamb.

From there, Pinto worked his way up through the play-by-play ranks and became the radio voice of the Mavericks in 1997. He moved over to TV in 2001.

Now he’s with the Clippers, living where he wants to live with his wife and two children, and no one is questioning his sanity.