Bucks play-by-play announcer Lisa Byington

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Lisa Byington joined the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, becoming the first female play-by-play announcer for a men's professional team. She knows that “first” and “feminine” come with the territory of her accomplishments, but when she takes a seat in the broadcast booth at Fiserv Forum, it's not as a woman, but as a presenter. CBS 58 had the opportunity to go behind the scenes and see what this job is like.

Before the game, Byington covers a lot.

“Just a few hours before the chaos,” she said.

Whether it's saying hello to former Buck and current Toronto Raptor Jordan Nwora on the court.

“We wish you well tonight, but not too much,” she said with a smile.

To the coaches' press conferences to ask some questions before the game.

“Where do you feel he took advantage of that?” She asked about Nwora’s opportunities in the team.

“Really, maybe about two and a half hours before tip, it's really like you go, go, go and never look back until the final buzzer sounds,” she said.

Byington calls the atmosphere at Fiserv electric.

“I love calling home games here,” she said.

Fans have gotten to know her as the Bucks' play-by-play announcer, where she calls the game from some of the best seats in the house, in the broadcast booth.

“I swear if you did 20 play-by-play games in a row, they would all have a different system,” she said.

Her system consists of lots of meticulous notes, production calls, and watching games.

“I read a lot of reports. You look at statistics,” she explained.

Everything to be ready when the lights come on for the pregame show.

“Milwaukee Bucks Basketball on WMLW, the M. Marques, Lisa and Melanie with you,” she said at the start of the show, introducing Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks, who are on the broadcast team with Byington.

Byington thinks about stats and storylines. There's one thing she doesn't think about.

Lisa Byington (Source: CBS 58)

“When I sit down and I'm about to broadcast the Bucks, I put my headset on, I think I'm a host, I don't think I'm a female host,” she said.

Byington joined the Bucks as the first woman to be a full-time play-by-play announcer in men's professional sports.

“All right, Bucks fans, it’s time for a great win,” she said during the pregame show.

But her journey here began long before that.

“I think it's important to know that you don't just roll out of bed and become an NBA announcer. For example, there are a lot of hours, a lot of routine work. There’s a lot of – is it worth it or not,” she said, simply put.

Byington was a two-sport athlete at Northwestern University, playing both football and basketball.

Lisa Byington (Source: CBS 58)

Her first television job was in Alpena, Michigan.

“It was one of the smallest markets in the country. And I made $14,000 a year,” she said.

A decidedly unspectacular beginning.

From there, she spent 10 years in East Lansing, Michigan at WLNS-TV.

“I was in the right place at the right time in a Big Ten city when the Big Ten Network started. And that’s when I started doing more regional, national work,” she said.

From there, she began participating in college football, doing sideline reporting and doing play-by-play during the NCAA Tournament.

“You have a passion for the job, it will eventually take you where you want to go,” Byington said.

And that's where she is now.

When the lights go out, the show begins.

The game is on and Byington goes to work.

“You have the opportunity to play a small role in a small part of the history of the Milwaukee Bucks in a small narrative, and I'm so grateful for that,” she said.

Lisa Byington (Source: CBS 58)