Sacramento Kings name Gary Gerould interim TV play-by-play announcer

The Sacramento Kings have named longtime radio voice Gary Gerould as the interim play-by-play announcer.

The Sacramento Kings have officially named their Grant Napear replacement in the form of longtime radio announcer Gary Gerould.

The Kings parted ways with Napear less than a month ago following accusations of racism from a number of former Kings players including longtime rival DeMarcus Cousins.

This came after the longtime TV play-by-play man posted a statement on Twitter that read “All Lives Matter.” Soon after he was placed on administrative leave by KHTK and two days later was fired from his position.

Napear had been the Kings’ play-by-play announcer on TV since 1988 and had been closely associated with the franchise for decades. However, the organization clearly felt it was best to move on.

And with the NBA season set to (hopefully) resume play next month, the Kings needed to find a suitable replacement for the time being. And it seems as though they’ve found their answer.

The Sacramento Kings have found their temporary replacement in Gary Gerould.

Sacramento announced on Thursday that Gerould would be assuming the normal play-by-play duties at least for the remainder of the season. They also indicated that a formal search would take place in the coming months to find his long-term replacement.

Gerould is in his 35th season with the Kings organization having called 2,769 games for the team’s radio station, Sports 1140 KHTK. He will be working alongside former Kings player Doug Christie during broadcasts on NBC Sports California.

Gerould had the following to say in a press release about the announcement.

"“I’m so pleased to have this opportunity and excited to be alongside Doug to call the team’s return to the court in Orlando. It is an absolute joy to return to the game I love and welcome the challenge of once again calling Kings game action on TV. I am grateful to the organization for entrusting me to resume the season and deeply appreciative to all the Kings fans for their tremendous support over the years.”"

The current pregame, halftime and postgame host for Kings Radio, Jason Ross, is expected to assume play-by-play duties on the team’s radio broadcasts. Ross has been with the Kings organization for the past 25 years and has worked with KHTK since 1994.

The Kings are one of 22 teams that are set to take part in the NBA’s restart that’s expected to start on July 31st. They currently sit 3.5 games back of the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies needing a strong showing in their eight-game stretch to make a push for the playoffs.

And now, they’ll be doing so with a new play-by-by announcer.