Ahead of longtime LA Clippers play-by-play broadcaster Ralph Lawler’s final regular season game, we got together and discussed our favorite Lawler moments.
After spending 40 years with the LA Clippers, legendary play-by-play broadcaster Ralph Lawler will call his final regular season game on Wednesday night when the Clippers host the Utah Jazz.
There isn’t a lot that any of us could say about Lawler that would truly capture our feelings about the man. Not only has he stuck around with one of the worst-performing franchises in all of sports, but he and his wife, Jo, have arguably been the team’s biggest supporters over the years.
Lawler has called well over 3,000 games over the course of his 40-year career, and has given his all for each and every one. He never takes a day off, never puts himself first, and he certainly never arrives to the arena unprepared.
He’s what’s made LA Clippers basketball so special to fans across the country, across the world, and although he’d never admit it himself, he absolutely deserves every honor that could be given to him.
To celebrate Lawler’s final regular season game with the LA Clippers, we rounded up some of the Clipperholics staff to discuss our favorite moments, and what it is that we feel makes Lawler so special.
Here’s to Ralph Lawler, and his unforgettable career.
What is your all-time favorite Ralph Lawler moment?
RYAN SNELLINGS: I remember getting so hyped up during the Blake Griffin dunk on Kendrick Perkins. I know he had done the Timofey Mozgov dunk years earlier, but Ralph’s enthusiasm on that play is just ingrained in my memory. “Oh me, oh my! The monster jam by Blake Griffin!” is something I can always hear in my head and will be on highlight reels for years to come.
ETHAN SMITH: I wasn’t alive at the time since I am a younger fan, but finding the footage of Ralph Lawler calling the LA Clippers first ever home playoff appearance in 1992 was something special since the riots in LA after the events of Rodney King being violently beaten by police. Game three of that series was played in Anaheim against the Jazz and it was something special to hear Ralph commentate around such a major event that impacted everyone.
SETH KIMBRELL: I will always and forever remember the joy in Ralph Lawler’s voice when DeAndre Jordan dunked the soul out of Brandon Knight. Even when he started with “the lob” you could tell that he saw something special coming. Then he explodes – along with every single living person watching – when DJ threw it down. The fact that all he could do for a bit after was laugh really put the point home.
NATHAN JACOBO: My favorite all-time Ralph Lawler call was during Blake Griffin’s rookie season, when Blake dunked on now current Clipper Danilo Gallinari. Gallo was of course a member of the New York Knicks, but the play first started off when Ryan Gomes ripped the ball away from Amar’e Stoudemire, which then led to BG spinning and jamming on Gallo. You can hear the thrill and excitement in Lawler’s tone as that play signified to me that the Clippers would have a bonafide superstar for years to come. The mic drop at the end of the dunk reminded me of something you would hear in WWE, take a listen.
GARRETT CHORPENNING: I’m surprised no one else has said it, but I’ll always remember Ralph’s call at the end of the 2015 Clippers – Spurs playoff series, when Chris Paul hit the game-winner over Tim Duncan. Since the game was on TNT I don’t think anyone really got a chance to hear it live, but I saw a video on YouTube years later that used his call of that final shot, and it brings tears to my eyes every single time. His call truly grasps the magnitude of the moment, and you can tell just how much it meant to him to shout it out loud. If you do just one thing today, I would suggest you listen to it:
That’s an unforgettable call.
What makes Ralph Lawler special to you?
SNELLINGS: His sincerity. The farewell tour this season kind of drove that home for me, as well. You always hear stories about how great X guy is, but I could really feel it with Ralph. I know he took the time with Garrett when he interviewed him, and he just radiates kindness. It’s one thing to be great at your job, but to do that while also being a great human being is something else.
SMITH: Ralph just makes watching basketball entertaining. He is also the ideal die hard commentator, seeing as how he has been with the team for what seems like forever. He has dealt with being second fiddle to the Lakers for so long but he has evolved with the game of basketball and made his own brand. When you hear “Bingo!” you don’t even have to be looking at the TV to know that a three-pointer was made. He is special because he isn’t afraid to express his opinion and someone always manages to keep a smile on his face and that is what makes him different from any other commentator.
KIMBRELL: Ralph was a ride-or-die Clippers voice. He stuck with this team for so long and put up with so much losing basketball, that it’s impossible not to respect what he means to the team. He’s able to take a 15-point game in February and call it the same way he would a playoff game in April; when you take that level of passion and love for the team and combine it with his enthusiasm for the history of the game, you get somebody that can fire up his listeners one second, and the next second tell you about some player you’ve never heard of in 1982. That’s what makes Ralph special to me.
JACOBO: Ralph Lawler is single-handedly the most responsible person to me that represents what the LA Clippers stand for. His knowledge of the game and rich history of past and present players is incredible. Knowing he stuck by the team, despite some of the worst seasons the franchise has seen is very telling. I will definitely miss hearing “Oh Me, Oh My”, “Bingo”, “Lawler’s Law: First to 100 wins, it’s the law”, and “fasten your seatbelts folks, we are going to down the wire”. Though he wasn’t able to witness the franchise’s first championship celebration as the team’s broadcaster, I am glad he was able to call some magnificent, winning basketball games for the Clippers in the past decade.
CHORPENNING: Ralph Lawler is truly an individual, and an incredibly dedicated one at that. I think that, being what he’s been through with this franchise, he’s probably the only person in the world who would have stuck with the team through it all. And even when the team was going through it all, you never would have suspected it if you only listened to his voice. Every game was the NBA Finals. Every game had that same, incredible level of enthusiasm and passion that made you feel like you were witnessing something truly special, regardless of the outcome. He always delivered.
How will Ralph Lawler’s legacy live on?
SNELLINGS: I kind of alluded to it earlier, but obviously his memorable calls will always be around. Lucky for us (and NBA fans as a whole), Ralph got to call some of the most memorable poster dunks in league history, so we’ll always hear his voice on those replays. I also think Lawler’s Law is something that will stick around, especially considering that it actually holds true over 90% of the time. Hopefully more announcers start to adopt that as an homage to him.
SMITH: His legacy will go on in the more recent future because the LA Clippers have seemed to use Lawler’s impending retirement as a sort of motivation to keep his career going as long as possible. Whoever succeeds Lawler will have their hands full, but I am sure Ralph will be there every step of the way to help them. His legacy will go on because when you think of the Clippers, you think of him. When the day comes that LA finally wins a title, an immediate thought will go in the direction of Lawler as to how he feels about seeing his beloved Clippers be so successful.
KIMBRELL: You know how, when you watch an old Lakers game, you immediately get drawn in by Chick Hearn? Or how just the voices of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon can make you see Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty in the WWF in the 90s? Ralph belongs in that same echelon. He’s an all-time great broadcaster and should be the first jersey retired when the Clippers get their own arena. He’s the model for any commentator for a team that isn’t a perennial contender, and the way he navigated being a diehard fan without being too much of a homer was always great. He was equally willing to give the other team a “Bingo!” or a “The lob, the jam” as he was our guys. These are the things that set Ralph apart, and what he’ll be remembered for.
JACOBO: Ralph Lawler’s legacy and name deserves to get the same recognition that some of LA’s great broadcasters have received over the past couple of years. He will be among the list that includes Chick Hearn (Lakers), Vin Scully (Dodgers) and Bob Miller (LA Kings) to name a few. Lawler’s name can be seen in Hollywood as he has his own Star of Fame. I hope the Clippers will promote Brian Sieman and look into pairing him with a former Clipper and carry Lawler’s legacy forward. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if we hear Lawler as a special guest for Clipper games in Portland, (Lawler and his wife Jo, reside in Oregon).
CHORPENNING: I think Ralph’s legacy will live on through the fans. There will always be clips available online, and I assume the LA Clippers will one day hang a jersey in the rafters in honor of him. But outside of the organization, Ralph’s impact is felt most by the fans. And so after Lawler calls his final game, and there’s a new play-by-play announcer in the booth, his legacy will endure in us. We’ll never see a three-point shot made and not think of him shouting “Bingo!”, or a team score 100 points and immediately feel nervous — or confident — depending on which team does it first. We’ll obviously never forget about Ralph Lawler the person, but his phrases and the things that made him so special will never go away.
Ralph Lawler will call his final regular season game tonight, when the LA Clippers host the Utah Jazz. After that, it’s up to the team to extend his career as they venture into the playoffs.