Bold claim: A public address announcer isn’t just a voice at a game—he’s shaping a community one moment of hype and one moment of guidance at a time. And this is the part most people miss: the real impact often happens off the mic.
By
Tori Mason
Reporter
Your Reporter Tori Mason specializes in coverage of Aurora. Share your story ideas with her by sending an email to yourreporter@cbs.com.
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February 20, 2026 / 10:00 PM MST / CBS Colorado
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This Black History Month, CBS Colorado is Elevating Black Voices—and Kyle Speller’s voice is among the most recognizable in the state. Not just for its power when the arena lights are on, but for how he uses it when they’re off.
If you’ve attended a Nuggets game at Ball Arena in Denver, you know the familiar sound—the booming introductions, the call-and-response chants, and the iconic: LET’S GOOOOO!
For Speller, the Nuggets’ public address announcer, the microphone is only one facet of his mission.
“I wear multiple hats,” Speller explains. “I’m also an associate pastor. By day, I’m a middle school guidance counselor. I serve as the school’s athletic director. I’m a boys’ basketball assistant coach and a girls’ basketball head coach. I’m always pouring into people.”
Speller traces his path to this role back to his roots in ministry, not professional sports.
“I always say it was all God,” he says. “I was part of a basketball team—it was a prison ministry basketball team.”
He began by doing player introductions, not realizing he was rehearsing the skills that would define him years later.
Then the Nuggets held an open call.
“The assignment was, ‘If you were the public address announcer for the Nuggets, how would you do it? Please send us your rendition of the player introductions,’” he recalls.
Speller recorded his submission in minutes at the Comcast Media Center in Littleton, mailing it on a CD.
“They said mine was the only one they liked,” he says. “They brought me in and I’ve been here ever since.”
Now in his 21st season, Speller is the first Black public address announcer for a major professional sports team in Colorado.
“I wasn’t even thinking about it,” he reflects. “I was just so excited to be here. It didn’t hit me until years later.”
Speller’s arena voice is instantly recognizable, but he says his real influence shows up in everyday moments, especially when guiding young people.
“I’m always trying to speak to their future self,” he says. “I want to leave the world better than I found it.”
That mindset is rooted in legacy—even when he may never see the results.
“I may not see the fruits of my labor. That’s not up to me,” he says. “But my job is to get the job done when I do see those opportunities.”
As a counselor and coach, Speller often meets kids who feel unheard or uncertain whether they have a voice worth using. He wants them to understand they don’t need to become someone else—they simply need to become themselves.
“We don’t need another Nikola. We don’t need another Jamal,” he says, referencing Denver stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. “We need you, however you are. You’ve been uniquely designed. You have a purpose.”
Speller notes that seeing Black leaders in his own life helped shape the person he became—from how someone wore a suit to how they led a room and treated people at every level.
“It is extremely important,” he explains, describing why it matters for young Black kids to see people who look like them in visible roles. “That was invaluable for me. I know it’s invaluable for our young people as well.”
Off the court, he serves as team chaplain, guided by faith.
“Everything I do is really for an audience of one,” he says. “The only person I’m really trying to impress is my heavenly Father.”
Even with a voice that fills Ball Arena, Speller admits pregame jitters ahead of every game.
“I have an outgoing personality, but I am shy,” he admits. “If I’m in a room with people I don’t know, I might stand in the corner.”
Whether announcing at Ball Arena, engaging with the community, or mentoring students, Speller’s guiding aim remains steady: leave things better than he found them and make an impact.
Would you like to see more profiles like this, or share your thoughts on how sports figures can influence communities beyond the game?
