David Diamante growing into role as Brooklyn Nets announcer

"It's the fourth quarter," the deep baritone cascades down from the speakers above. David Diamante is standing, his face on the big screen hanging above center court, his waist-length dreads barely visible but part of the Brooklyn persona. It's time to stand up and cheer, now a ritual at Nets home games.

Diamante gets the "audience dynamic," as a New Yorker profile puts it. A former boxing announcer, bouncer, actor and a lot of other things, he was signed to be the Nets announcer two years ago with the Brooklyn move in mind. Now, the signature baritone and dreads are part of the Barclays Center experience. It doesn't hurt that he comes from a family that stretches back five generations in Brooklyn.

In the profile, Diamante talks about the challenge of being "the Voice" of the Nets. "They hand you a script with who’s in the house that night or what the halftime show is, and I try to be concise, clear, and correct with my pronunciations of names. Other than that, the only instruction is ‘do you.’ " He does.

• David Diamante: The Voice of the Nets - Andrew Marantz - The New Yorker