Mark Jones is one of the longest-tenured announcers at ESPN, having worked with the network since 1990. However, his time with the Worldwide Leader in Sports is coming to an end.
According to Andrew Marchand at The Athletic, Jones will work his last telecast with ESPN when he calls the Celtics-Magic game on the final day of the NBA regular season this Sunday.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that it was Jones’ decision, and that there will be a tribute to him during the broadcast.
ESPN confirmed the departure in a statement to Awful Announcing. “Mark has made an enduring impact at ESPN since 1990, serving as a signature voice primarily within our NBA and college football coverage and across nearly all of our platforms. We’re grateful for Mark’s countless contributions, and we wish him continued success.”
And Jones issued his own post on BlueSky.
Mark Jones has called a number of different sports for ESPN, mainly as one of their top voices covering the NBA and college football. He called Christmas Day NBA games earlier this season and worked the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff in 2024.
Jones has been outspoken about social issues as a broadcaster, talking about the importance of Black play-by-play voices in sports. He’s also known for having an incredibly wide range of cultural references and an expanded thesaurus for using phrases that are unique to him.
The Toronto native has been part of ESPN’s coverage of the NBA Finals, college basketball, and the WNBA, dating back to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. He’s also served as a studio anchor and host for everything from SportsCenter to the NBA Draft.
In recent years, the Toronto native has also added local NBA coverage to his portfolio. He became a play-by-play broadcaster of the Sacramento Kings in 2020, calling local telecasts when not on national coverage.
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