Sixers are bringing back longtime PA announcer Matt Cord
Cord said he was ready to retire. Then the Sixers signed Jaylen Brown and LeBron James.
Sixers fans won’t have to imagine Matt Cord’s introduction of LeBron James.
The longtime voice of the Sixers, who retired in May after 28 years as the team’s public address announcer, is coming back for one final season.
“I’m just honored,” Cord said. “The way the fans reached out to me, it’s humbling.”
Cord had no intention to come back, even though his final game — a 30-point loss to the New York Knicks on Mother’s Day that swept the Sixers out of the playoffs — was unsatisfying. Cord was so ready for retirement he and his family booked a trip to Ireland in October to attend the wedding of a friend’s daughter.
Then the Sixers signed James and traded for Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, and suddenly Cord was getting calls to reconsider his decision to walk away.
One influential text came from Hall of Famer Allen Iverson.
“He wrote, ‘I think you’ve got one more chapter left. I understand if you don’t want to. I’ll always have your back,’” Cord said. ”That was crazy. ... I didn’t even know he had my number."
Iverson was among those to celebrate Cord’s return Wednesday, along with current Sixers Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
“You should’ve never left,” Embiid said in a video shared by the Sixers. “But it’s good to have you back.”
Another factor was the Sixers hadn’t yet announced a replacement, no doubt due to the team’s desire for Cord to reconsider his decision. Just last month, Cord said he ran into Sixers owners David Blitzer and Josh Harris at a Tyrese Maxey Foundation event, where they asked Cord why he retired in the first place.
“Josh and David were like, ‘Are you coming back?’” Cord said. “That kind of made it like, ‘OK, I think I should now.’”
It will be Cord’s 29th season as PA announcer, where his voice has served as the in-game soundtrack for the Sixers dating to the Iverson era.
“A. Six. Foot. Guaaarrrrdddd frooom Georgetown. Number three. Allllleeeeen I-verson,” Cord beamed as he introduced Iverson’s return to the Sixers in 2009. But Cord’s favorite introduction has always been for Jumaine Jones, the former first-round pick who spent only two seasons in Philly (1999-2001).
“Six-eight, frrroooom Georgia. Number thirty THREE! Jumaine! Jones!” Cord told the Inquirer in March.
Cord said his introductions “evolve over the season.” While his calls for Maxey and Embiid are set, he did have to switch gears midway through last season when it came to introducing rookie VJ Edgecombe.
“We all thought his name was pronounced ‘Edge-comb’ for half the season, and Kate Scott came to me ... and said it’s really ‘Edge-come,’” Cord said. “The Knicks announcers were calling him that during the playoffs and I was like, ‘Who can I call to let them know they’re saying it wrong?’”
Cord said returning to the Sixers won’t impact his day job on 93.3 WMMR, where he hosts the late Pierre Robert’s former midday slot. It’s Cord’s third stint at the rock station dating to the 1990s. Prior to that, he hosted the morning show on 102.9 WMGK, a slot he filled in 2023 following the retirement of John DeBella.
As for how he’ll introduce James when he takes the court next month, Cord previewed what it might sound like during an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic last month.
“At six-nine, from St. Vincent–St. Mary’s. Number twenty three, LeBrooooonnnnnn JAMES! JAMES! JAMES!”
