It’s not often that a television announcer is known as a giant in his industry, but that was Craig Sager, who passed away on Thursday after a lengthy battle with leukemia. He was 65.
Sideline announcers tend to be dime-a-dozen types, but Mr. Sager elevated the art in the NBA with his incisive interviews, backed by extensive knowledge of the league, and low-key sense of humor. Clad in his colorful and distinctive suits, Sager had a 26-year NBA association with Turner Broadcasting and covered a wide variety of sports, including college football, the NFL, the World Series, the Pan Am Games, World Cup soccer, golf, tennis and the Olympics over a career that began in 1973, shortly after his graduation from Northwestern University.