Tom Tolbert

Last updated

Tom Tolbert
Tom Tolbert - Arizona Wildcats.jpg
Tolbert, circa 1987
Personal information
Born (1965-10-16) October 16, 1965 (age 58)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school Artesia (Lakewood, California)
College
NBA draft 1988: 2nd round, 34th overall pick
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Playing career1988–1995
Position Power forward
Number23, 3, 40, 39
Career history
1988 Charlotte Hornets
1988–1989 Canarias
1989–1992 Golden State Warriors
1992–1993 Orlando Magic
1993–1994 Los Angeles Clippers
1994–1995 Charlotte Hornets
Career NBA statistics
Points 2,030 (6.5 ppg)
Rebounds 1,251 (4.0 rpg)
Assists 285 (0.9 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Byron Thomas Tolbert (born October 16, 1965) is an American sports broadcaster and former professional basketball player. He played a total of seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). [1] After retiring from basketball, Tolbert became a radio show co-host on KNBR in San Francisco and NBA commentator for the television networks NBC, ESPN, and ABC.

Contents

Early life

Tolbert graduated from Artesia High School in Lakewood, California in 1983.

College career

Following high school, he played college basketball at the University of California, Irvine (1983–1985), Cerritos College (1985–86), and the University of Arizona (1986–1988). While at Arizona, Tolbert played under coach Lute Olson, helping the team to an appearance in the 1988 Final Four. At Arizona, Tolbert was also a teammate of five-time NBA champion and future Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

Professional career

In 1988, he was a second-round draft pick (9th pick, 34th overall) of the Charlotte Hornets. [1]

Tolbert spent seven seasons playing for a number of NBA teams, including Charlotte (1988–89, 94–95), the Golden State Warriors (1989–92), the Orlando Magic (1992–93), and the Los Angeles Clippers (1993–94). He also played briefly for Canarias in the Spanish league. He retired following the 1994-95 season after his oldest son was born.

Broadcasting career

Radio

In 1996, Tolbert was hired by KNBR, a San Francisco-based local sports radio station, to co-host a radio talk show titled The Razor and Mr. T with longtime Bay Area sports radio host Ralph Barbieri. The show attracted high ratings in the Bay Area with male listeners aged 25 to 54. [2] The title of the show was changed to The Mr. T Show following the departure of Barbieri from KNBR in the summer of 2012. In 2014, with former San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto becoming co-host, the show became Mr. T & Ratto. [3] Beginning in 2019, Tolbert hosted the Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks Show. [4] [5] On February 25, 2022, Larry Kreuger and Rod Brooks were removed from the show. [6]

From December 2012 to the end of the 2016 NBA season, Tolbert joined the Golden State Warriors Radio Network as color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Tim Roye. [7] Tolbert currently hosts “Tolbert and Copes” with his co-host Adam Copeland

Television

In addition to his radio work in San Francisco, Tolbert was a color commentator for NBA telecasts on NBC. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2002 for his work as a commentator on NBC. Tolbert then worked for ESPN from 2002 to 2007. [8] In 2003, Tolbert - along with Brad Nessler and Bill Walton - called the NBA Finals for ABC. [3]

Personal life

Tolbert lives in Alameda, California with his wife and three children. [3] In 2017, Tolbert suffered an aortic aneurysm and underwent emergency heart surgery. He returned to his radio hosting duties after a week-long recovery. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden State Warriors</span> National Basketball Association team in San Francisco, California

The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the Warriors moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and took the city's name, before changing its geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971. The club plays its home games at the Chase Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Kerr</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1965)

Stephen Douglas Kerr is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known as one of the most accurate three-point shooters in NBA history. Kerr is a nine-time NBA champion, having won five titles as a player and four as head coach of the Warriors. He was named one of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Barry</span> American former basketball player (born 1944)

Richard Francis Dennis Barry III is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the most prolific scorers and all-around players in basketball history. He is the only one to lead the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ABA, and NBA in points per game in a season. He ranks as the all-time ABA scoring leader in regular season and postseason (33.5) play, while his 36.3 points per game are the most in the NBA Finals history. Barry was also the only player to score at least 50 points in a Game 7 of the playoffs in either league until Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum both reached that mark in 2022. He is one of only four players to be a part of a championship team in both leagues.

KNBR is a AM radio station in San Francisco, California, broadcasting on a clear channel from transmitting facilities in Redwood City, California. KNBR's non-directional 50,000-watt class-A signal can be heard throughout much of the western United States and as far west as the Hawaiian Islands at night. For several decades, KNBR enjoyed a long history as the flagship station of NBC's West Coast radio operations.

Ralph Louis Barbieri was an American sports radio personality from San Francisco, California. Along with former NBA player Tom Tolbert, Barbieri hosted the afternoon sports radio show The Razor and Mr. T on KNBR (AM) from 1996 to 2012. With Barbieri, the show was the highest-rated show in the Bay Area for the 25–54 male demographic since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaa Abdelnaby</span> Egyptian-American basketball player (born 1968)

Alaa Abdelnaby, is an Egyptian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils followed by a five-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, and then stints in various other leagues. Abdelnaby is one of two Egyptian-born players in the history of the NBA, along with Abdel Nader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Papa</span> American sportscaster

Gregory Charles Papa is an American sportscaster, currently employed as the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers. He has also broadcast for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, San Antonio Spurs, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco Giants during his career.

KTCT is a commercial radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a sports radio format as KNBR 1050, a sister station to KNBR and KNBR-FM. In contrast to KNBR-AM-FM having local sports talk and play-by-play most of the day, KTCT emphasizes nationally syndicated programming from ESPN Radio. KTCT is also the radio home for San Jose Earthquakes soccer, Stanford University football, and University of San Francisco men's basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie-Jill Laflin</span> American model, television personality and sportscaster

Bonnie-Jill Laflin is an American actress, model, television personality and sportscaster. Laflin has also worked as an actress and most notably as a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, making her the league's first female scout. She was also assistant general manager of the Lakers NBA Development League team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damon Bruce</span> American sports radio host

Damon Matthew Bruce is an American sports radio host who hosted the Damon and Ratto on KGMZ-FM "95.7 the Game" in San Francisco, California. The Duo was replaced in a station shuffle in March 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Barnett (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1944)

James Franklin Barnett is a former professional basketball player. He was the Golden State Warriors television analyst from 1985 to 2019, and currently splits time with Tom Tolbert as the team's radio color analyst on 95.7 The Game.

Ray Ratto has been a San Francisco Bay Area sportswriter since the 1970s and a sports columnist since the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KGMZ-FM</span> Sports radio station in San Francisco

KGMZ-FM is a sports radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., and broadcasts from studios on Battery Street in the North Beach section of San Francisco. KGMZ-FM serves as the flagship station for the Golden State Warriors basketball team. The station also broadcasts games of the Bay Area Panthers indoor football team.

NBC Sports Bay Area is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and the San Francisco Giants, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. Headquartered in San Francisco, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports events throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. NBCS Bay Area's sister channel is NBC Sports California. The president of the network is Ted Griggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Roye</span>

Timothy James Roye is an American radio play-by-play announcer for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Prior to joining the Warriors, he had worked in radio in Utica, Birmingham, Phoenix, and Sacramento, with occupations from play-by-play announcing to hosting radio shows and being a sports radio director. He has been calling Warrior games for over 20 seasons and is currently heard on 95.7 The Game, an FM station in the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Fitzgerald</span> American sports broadcaster

Robert James Fitzgerald is an American sports broadcaster who is currently the TV play-by-play announcer for the NBA's Golden State Warriors on NBC Sports Bay Area and was a co-host of the radio talk show Fitz and Brooks on KNBR with Rod Brooks.

SportsTalk Live is a television sports discussion series that airs on NBC Sports Bay Area in the United States.

Mychael Urban was a San Francisco native and longtime Bay Area sportswriter, radio and TV personality. Known best for his multimedia coverage and analysis of the San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's and Major League Baseball, he also covered the NBA's Golden State Warriors, the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and the NHL's San Jose Sharks. Among other varied assignments, he was contracted to work five Olympic Games for NBC, contributed to ESPN and its magazine, and authored a best-seller.

The San Francisco Giants Radio Network is the radio network of the San Francisco Giants. There are 15 stations in the English-language network, including the flagship KNBR/KNBR-FM. Six stations carry the team's broadcasts in Spanish, including the Spanish-language flagship KSFN, bringing the total number of radio stations carrying Giants baseball to 21.

Kate Scott is an American sportscaster who is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers. Scott also calls international soccer for Fox Sports and CBS Sports and is the preseason television voice of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.

References

  1. 1 2 Tom Tolbert Statistics - Basketball-Reference.com
  2. ↑ Smith, Michelle (June 13, 2003). "KNBR makes moves". San Francisco Chronicle .
  3. 1 2 3 "Mr. T & Ratto". KNBR. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks | KNBR".
  5. ↑ "Tolbert & Lund". KNBR-AM. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  6. ↑ "KNBR shakeup: Larry Krueger, Rod Brooks removed from afternoon show". February 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Tom Tolbert to Join Warriors Radio Broadcasts as Color Analyst". Golden State Warriors. December 28, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ Okanes, Jonathan (November 2, 2007). "Tolbert puzzled but shrugs off ESPN decision". Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on May 3, 2013.
  9. ↑ Jenkins, Bruce (January 3, 2018). "Tom Tolbert on life after heart surgery: New perspective, same old humor". San Francisco Chronicle.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.