Lawrence Tanter

Who is Lawrence Tanter?

Lawrence Tanter is an American public address announcer best known for his work for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. In addition to his duties with the Lakers, Tanter was also the program director for public jazz radio station KKJZ.

Tanter began working as the Lakers' public address announcer at the start of the NBA's 1981-82 season and has been a fixture at Laker home games ever since. He is the longest tenured Lakers PA announcer ever. During his tenure behind the microphones of both The Forum and the Staples Center, Tanter has seen the Lakers win 15 NBA Western Conference titles and 9 NBA Championships. In addition, he has seen the Lakers miss the NBA Playoffs only twice during his time as the team's PA announcer.

When World Wrestling Entertainment fought with the Denver Nuggets over an arena booking for a playoff game in 2009, Tanter was recruited as guest ring announcer for the main event of a newly relocated Raw at Staples Center. In the match, five heel wrestlers in Denver Nuggets jerseys competed against five face wrestlers in Lakers garb, and the Lakers team won. Soon afterward, the Lakers eliminated the Nuggets in the 2009 Western Conference Finals 4-2. They then went on to defeat the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals and capture another NBA title.