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Kara Lawson named to Washington Wizards Broadcast team

By Erica Ayala

COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies talks to Kara Lawson after the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 29, 2016 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies talks to Kara Lawson after the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 29, 2016 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /
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Today, CSN Mid-Atlantic welcomed Kara Lawson to the Washington Wizards’ broadcast team. She will be the “primary analyst voice”, working alongside play-by-play announcer Steve Buckhantz.

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“I’m ecstatic to return to my hometown and be a part of the coverage for the franchise I rooted for growing up,” said Lawson for the CSN release. “To cover the NBA on a day-to-day basis, as part of a team, is a dream come true.”

The Alexandria-native began her playing and broadcast career in Sacramento after graduating from the University of Tennessee.  She now returns to her roots in Washington, and covering an NBA franchise.

Broadcast career

Lawson joined the Sacramento Kings broadcast team while playing in the WNBA. She worked as a studio analyst for the Comcast Sports Net from 2004-07. She joined ESPN the same year to cover women’s college basketball.

On Jan. 12, 2007, she became the first woman analyst to call a nationally televised NBA game. Lawson has covered all levels of the men’s and women’s game in her broadcasting career.

“To find somebody who had been part of this community, who had grown up here, who had been a part of this organization: all these things happened at the right time,” CSN President and GM Rebecca Schulte told The Washington Post.

Lawson’s experience with the market is particularly important as 33-year veteran Phil Chenier plays a less prominent role for the upcoming season.

Playing career

Lawson spent seven seasons as the starting point guard with the Monarchs and led the team to its first and only WNBA title in 2005.

Lawson joined the Connecticut Sun after the Monarchs folded in 2009.

In 2008, Lawson won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as a member of the Women’s Basketball Olympic Team.

The road ahead

Taking on the role as primary analyst is somewhat of a dream job for Lawson, having grown up and played in the Washington market. “There are not many times in life when you are offered an opportunity that fits on so many levels,” she shared.

Lawson will continue her work with ESPN in addition to her new role with CSN.

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