Kent Bewley's News Story Collection

On Wed, Sept 23, Lawrence Tanter, the public address announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers, passed away while in hospice care in the Los Angeles area. Tanter was 76 years old and he suffered a stroke late in the regular season, which caused him to miss the entire playoff run for the Lakers. Tanter’s career as the public address announcer for the Purple & Gold began in the 1982-83 NBA season, which was in the middle of the Showtime Era where star players like Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Michael Cooper and James Worthy were playing on the team coached by Pat Riley. Under Tanter’s tenure, the Lakers won nine NBA championships and made a playoff appearance in more than 80% of the seasons in which Tanter was behind the microphone at the Forum and STAPLES Center/Crypto.com Arena. One of the most iconic voices in all of the NBA is no longer on this world and it won’t be the same going to Lakers games for all the fans of the most successful team in the past half-century of the league’s history.

Tanter was born on Oct 11, 1949 in Chicago, Ill and he grew to be a tall 6’7” gentleman. Tanter gained a career in being a disc jockey at several jazz radio stations in L.A and his baritone voice eventually earned him a job as the PA announcer of the Lakers back when they were owned by Dr. Jerry Buss. Some of Tanter’s most famous introductions and announcements of Purple & Gold players scoring included Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, “the Iron Man” A.C Green, Shaquille O’Neal and most notably Kobe Bryant.

With his voice creating an atmosphere of prestige at Lakers home games, Tanter was one of the best PA announcers of the late 20th century and early 21st century in American sports. Comparing him with the “Voice of God” PA announcer Roy Steele for the Oakland Athletics and Bob Sheppard for the New York Yankees from 1951-2007, Tanter also had the pleasure of working with some of the best radio and television commentators in the entire nation. With Chick Hearn being the radio voice of the Lakers when Tanter began his tenure(and he continued in that role until his passing in 2002) and the television color commentator being Stu Lantz(who is still in that role to this day), Tanter had created plenty of good relationships with the broadcast teams of the Purple & Gold while sitting in his chair at the scorers’ table in Inglewood and downtown Los Angeles.

Tanter also oversaw uniform number retirements for countless Lakers legends such as Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Shaq, Kobe, Pau Gasol, and Coop-a-Loop. There were also statue unveiling ceremonies outside of STAPLES at Star Plaza that Tanter m’ceed such as the first two ones of the deceased Bryant and most recently for Pat Riley in Feb 2026. Tanter was also most famous for his signature and stylish phrasing of “Laker girls” for the cheerleading squad of the team. Even though some of his toning of the provocative cheer squad was deemed sexist in more recent times, the crowds at home games for the Purple & Gold appreciated Tanter’s vocal tone whenever he spoke, whether announcing which player had committed a foul or announcing the scorer of a basket, especially to more visually impaired patrons.

Along with the organ-playing over the loudspeakers inside the House That Kobe Built, Tanter’s voice was the perfect guide for all fans that have attended Lakers home games over the past 40-plus years. His passing comes at a transition period for the franchise after LeBron James departed in free agency for the Philadelphia 76ers and Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are a power-duo expected to carry the Purple & Gold back to championship glory. The man who filled in for Tanter when he was ill or unavailable over the past couple of seasons is Jason Barquero, whose voice is younger and crisp when compared to Tanter’s. Barquero serves as the PA announcer for the Lakers’ G-League affiliate, which was called the South Bay Lakers but are now known as the Coachella Valley Lakers in a move to the Palm Springs area this upcoming season. It is unknown whether Barquero will succeed Tanter as the full-time public address announcer or not, but one thing is for certain. Beginning on Wed, Oct 21, there will be no familiar voice guiding Lakers’ fans through a basketball game with phrases such as “two minutes, two minutes remaining in this ballgame” and “Laker girlllls” along with “The home team, your Los Angeles Lakers”.

Some notable moments that Tanter was physically present to witness in Lakers history include:

• The Kevin McHale clotheslining of Kurt Rambis in Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals at the Forum.
• The Lakers defeating the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 1987 NBA Finals at the Forum.
• The Lakers winning a second consecutive NBA title against the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals at the Forum.
• The final game in the career of the then Scoring King, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in Game 4 of the 1989 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons at the Forum.
• The first of six titles for the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals at the Forum.
• The triumphant return of Magic Johnson onto the floor on Jan 30, 1996 at the Forum.
• The epic Game 7 victory in the 2000 Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers at STAPLES Center.
• The Allen Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue incident in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals at STAPLES Center.
• The buzzer-beating fadeaway from Kobe Bryant against the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the 2006 Western Conference First Round at STAPLES Center.
• The amazing Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals at STAPLES Center.
• The tearing of Kobe’s Achilles tendon in a regular-season game against the Golden State Warriors on April 12, 2013 at STAPLES Center.
• The final game in the career of Kobe Bryant on April 13, 2016 when the Black Mamba scored 60 points against the Utah Jazz at STAPLES Center.
• The emotional first game at STAPLES Center following Kobe’s tragic death in a helicopter accident along with his daughter Gianna Bryant, in which all the starting Lakers players wore numbers 8 and 24 when being introduced by Tanter, who announced “Kobeee Bryant” for each player before a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on January 31, 2020.
• Although not physically present in the NBA bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tanter recorded himself saying the names of players who were playing in the bubble located south of Orlando, Florida, so his voice echoing through those arenas with panels showing fans watching from external locations made it feel like he was there.
• The moment when LeBron James scored on a fadeaway basket in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thur, Feb 9, 2023 to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabaar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.