Rod Hundley - Broadcasting Career

Broadcasting Career

After his retirement, Hundley moved to the broadcast booth, working four seasons for the Phoenix Suns and four seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the early 1970s, he also teamed with Dick Enberg to call syndicated college basketball for TVS. Hundley was an NBA announcer for five years for CBS, where he called four All-Star Games and worked two All-Star Games on ABC Radio.

In 1974, Hundley became the first radio and television voice of the expansion New Orleans Jazz. He followed the team to Salt Lake City in 1979, where he became as celebrated as a broadcaster as he was as a player. He was known for his rapid-fire style and sayings such as "from the parking lot" for a long-distance shot.

For many years, Hundley's broadcasts were simulcast on both television and radio, but the league forced the Jazz to end this practice starting with the 2005-2006 season, when Craig Bolerjack took over television duties. Hot Rod continued to provide the radio voice for the Jazz for four more seasons. As the decade wore on, nearly all NBA teams eventually moved radio broadcasters from courtside to perches high above the court, and the strain on Hundley's surgically replaced hips and knees became too much for him to bear. He announced his retirement on April 24, 2009, effective at the end of the season.

Since retirement, Hundley has surfaced alongside Joel Meyers on KCAL's televised Lakers broadcasts as a fill-in color commentator for Stu Lantz.

In 2000, Hundley graduated from WVU with a bachelor’s degree in arts and sciences, 43 years after leaving his alma mater without a degree to play in the NBA. In 1982, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary All-America Team for distinguished service for his life’s accomplishments, and in 1992, he was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. He received the NBA’s Distinguished Broadcaster award in 1994. In 2003, Hundley received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - the only former professional player to achieve such an honor. In June 2004, he was voted into the Utah Broadcast Hall of Fame. He co-authored the book "Hot Rod Hundley: You Gotta Love It Baby," in 1998 with Tom McEachin; Bill Libby also wrote a biographical book about Hundley, "Clown: No. 33 in Your Program, No. 1in Your Heart," in 1970.

A newspaper once incorrectly reported Hundley wrote a book titled "The Man With a Lot to Smile About," and other sources have persisted in repeating the error.