Lakers News: Behind The Scenes Of Allie Clifton's Historic LA Broadcast

Sports broadcast journalist and former college basketball player Allie Clifton made history one week ago as she became the first woman in Los Angeles Lakers history to cover one of the team's games on their local broadcast.

With the legendary Stu Lantz unavailable due to a medial procedure, Clifton was approached about subbing in for Lantz.

She accepted and immediately began preparing, with only two and a half days before she would be calling the Lakers game against the Utah Jazz. Clifton detailed that preparation after her 

“I believe in hard work, so when I got the call at 7:30 on Monday morning, my mind certainly went into that mode. It was a different kind of preparation from when I’m in the studio and doing those assignments, but it is something that’s not foreign to me in terms of work. That’s exactly what I do and what I pride myself on.”

— Allie Clifton, via Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times.

Clifton's performance in the booth was praised after the game by Lakers president of business operations, Tim Harris.

“Allie is a tremendous professional with impeccable basketball expertise. Her observation of the game is coupled with a confident and relaxed delivery. We appreciate her stepping into the role seamlessly and sharing her insights on the Lakers broadcast that fans love.”

— Tim Harris, via Chuck Shilken of the Los Angeles Times.

There's a good chance Clifton could see a return to the Lakers broadcast booth, especially if the team needs a fill-in broadcaster in the future. If that happens, Clifton will no longer be making history, but continuing to normalize having female broadcasters in the booth, especially for male professional sports.