Tom Tolbert

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Tom Tolbert bigraphy, stories - American basketball player

Tom Tolbert : biography

October 16, 1965 –

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

Personal life

Tolbert lives in Alameda, California with his wife and three children.

Basketball career

Tolbert graduated from Artesia High School in Lakewood, California in 1983. Following high school, he played college basketball at 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. In 1988, he was a second-round draft pick (9th pick, 34th overall) of the Charlotte Hornets. 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 a longtime Bay Area sports radio host Ralph Barbieri. The show has been the highest rated show in the Bay Area in the 25-54 male demographic since 2000.

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 commentator on NBC. Tolbert then worked for ESPN from 2002 to 2007. In 2003, Tolbert – along with Brad Nessler and Bill Walton – called the NBA Finals for ABC.