FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 17th, 2019

NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON NAMES JUSTIN KUTCHER PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER, DREW GOODEN ANALYST FOR LIVE WIZARDS COVERAGE

KUTCHER JOINS NBCSW AFTER 13 YEARS CALLING GAMES FOR NATIONAL NETWORKS, INCLUDING FOX SPORTS AND ESPN 

GOODEN, A FORMER WIZARD AND 14-YEAR NBA VETERAN, EXPANDS ROLE AFTER 2 SEASONS AS NBCSW ANALYST 

BETHESDA, Md. – July 17, 2019 – NBC Sports Washington (NBCSW) has named Justin Kutcher its Washington Wizards play-by-play announcer, and former Wizard Drew Gooden game analyst. Kutcher, who has 13 years of play-by-play experience for national networks, including FOX Sports and ESPN, and 14-year NBA veteran Gooden, will serve alongside longtime courtside reporter Chris Miller to lead NBCSW’s live-game coverage of the Wizards, beginning with the 2019-20 NBA season.

“We are tremendously excited and proud to unveil a dynamic new team to provide NBC Sports Washington’s live coverage of Wizards basketball,” said NBCSW Sr. VP and GM Damon Phillips. “Justin’s skill, dedication and tremendous body of work have established him as one of the preeminent sports announcers nationwide. His impressive background and passion for basketball, combined with the considerable NBA and Wizards knowledge Drew and Chris have accumulated, will result in a high-quality, entertaining product for fans.”

Overall, Kutcher has 17 years of experience as a play-by-play announcer covering top sports and premier events across professional and college leagues and conferences. Most recently, he spent seven years with FOX Sports calling national coverage of NCAA basketball and football, the NFL and MLB. He also contributed to coverage of the past four USGA U.S. Open Championships, several international soccer events, including the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2016 Copa America Centenario, as well as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Prior to FOX Sports, Kutcher served as a play-by-play announcer for ESPN for four years. During that time, he led live coverage for a variety of sports, including basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball and hockey, across professional, college and high school leagues, and conferences. In addition to FOX Sports and ESPN, he called collegiate events for CSTV, now CBS Sports Network, for two years, as well as BTN, and contributed to MLB.com digital programming.

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to join NBC Sports Washington as the play-by-play announcer for their Wizards coverage, and can’t wait to partner with Drew and Chris and the rest of the production team to provide fans the best broadcast possible,” said Kutcher. “Basketball has been a part of my life since I can remember, and to now be the television voice of an NBA team is almost surreal. I’m so excited to become part of Washington’s passionate basketball community, and to build a relationship with the fans.”

Kutcher began his professional play-by-play career in 2002 with the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Hyannis Mets and spent the 2003 to 2005 seasons as the radio voice of minor league baseball teams. A native of Fairfield, Conn., he graduated from Boston University, where he was the voice of the women’s basketball team and sports director of the student radio station. As a student and minor league baseball announcer, he worked as a statistician and special assistant to FOX Sports’ Joe Buck and Tim McCarver during the MLB postseason.

Gooden will now serve as NBCSW’s game analyst, working alongside Kutcher and Miller. For the last two seasons, he’s been NBCSW’s lead analyst for Wizards pregame and postgame coverage, and has also been a secondary game analyst. Prior to joining NBCSW in 2017, he was an NBA ambassador, and appeared regularly on ESPN, FS1, NBATV and SiriusXM Radio. As a player, he spent the final three seasons of his NBA career with the Wizards, helping the team advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2014 and 2015.

“First off, I’d like to thank NBC Sports Washington for giving me another opportunity to grow and flourish as an analyst for the Wizards, I’m extremely excited to be a part of this family,” said Gooden. “Over the past several seasons, so many people have not only supported me, but allowed me to grow into this new role. Now let’s get started.”

NBC Sports Washington, part of NBC Sports Group, is the official sports network of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals, NFL’s Washington Redskins and ACC. NBC Sports Washington – the leading multiplatform sports media organization serving the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia – delivers more than 400 live events per year, along with Emmy Award-winning news, analysis and entertainment programming. NBC Sports Washington’s digital portfolio is the region’s top source for written, video and interactive sports content. Follow the network on Twitter via @NBCSWashington, and on NBCSportsWashington.com and the MyTeams app.

NBC Sports Regional Networks is NBC Sports Group’s portfolio of nine regional networks that delivers more than 2,200 live sporting events and original content to more than 35 million homes. Aligned within Eastern and Western Divisions, the NBC Sports Regional Networks are: NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports Philadelphia +, NBC Sports Washington, NBC Sports Washington + and SNY; and NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports California, NBC Sports Chicago and NBC Sports Northwest. For more information on NBC Sports Group properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios, headshots and logos, please visit www.NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.