Lakers Name Lawrence Tanter’s Successor as Public Address Announcer

After 43 years of Lawrence Tanter being the public address announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers, the storied NBA franchise will have a new voice courtside.

The longtime public address announcer recently passed away after retiring following the end of the 2025-26 NBA season. Tanter’s voice was iconic and irreplaceable, and yet he had to be replaced, with the team making a decision on his successor this week.

Lakers Name Derrin Horton as Tanter’s Successor

On Thursday, the Lakers announced that they have hired former KTLA sports anchor Derrin Horton as their new public address announcer.

The Lakers have officially announced Derrin Horton as the team's new public address announcer pic.twitter.com/2bi4XlVIAW
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) October 1, 2026

According to Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the LA Times, Horton spoke with reporters after the announcement was made and said the following about replacing an iconic figure like Tanter.

“There’s no way you can fill his shoes,” Horton said in an interview with local reporters. “And so you just come here with a passion and a goal to be informative and entertaining and be a part of Showtime.”

Horton will make his debut in his new role on Oct. 8, when the Lakers host the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena, the third of five games Los Angeles will play during the NBA preseason.

“They’re there to see the Lakers,” Horton said. “So what I do is just try to enhance the experience like a little salt and pepper. Season it up a little bit.”

The 58-year-old has 35 years of broadcasting experience and has won seven Emmy Awards over the course of his career.

2-Time NBA Champion Jordan Farmar Joins Lakers Broadcast Team

Ahead of the start of the 2026-27 NBA season, Spectrum SportsNet announced some familiar faces joining the broadcast team, including two-time NBA champion and former Lakers guard Jordan Farmar.

Jordan Farmar will join the Los Angeles Lakers broadcast team on Spectrum SportsNet as an analyst for select road games, per Lakers PR
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) September 30, 2026

Along with analyst Stu Lantz and play-by-play announcer Bill Macdonald, set to return for another season, Farmar’s former Lakers teammate Sasha Vujacic will be in the Spectrum SportsNet studio, as well as three-time NBA champion Danny Green.

An interesting wrinkle this season is that Green will go on the road with Macdonald as the primary analyst on the play-by-play announcing team, while Lantz will only do home games throughout the 2026-27 campaign.

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