The warm, sincere welcome was for a long-lost friend, though in actuality, the former voice of the Utah Jazz had only really been gone for a quarter of the season. Jazz coaches welcomed the 75-year-old broadcaster, who had been the voice of the franchise since 1974.

"Everybody thinks I'm going back to the [Los Angeles] Lakers," Hundley said a couple of hours before Utah and the Jazz were to play. "No."

It's been full-circle for Hundley, who began his broadcasting career with Los Angeles six years before joining the Jazz in New Orleans. He teamed with Lakers play-by-play announcer Joel Meyers to broadcast Saturday's game vs. Utah, as well as the next four L.A. games.

Los Angeles' analyst, Mychal Thompson, missed games Friday and Saturday due to the death of his mother. In addition, Lakers color commentator Stu Lantz will miss six games to be with his wife, who had ankle surgery.

"It was a fluke how this all happened," said Hundley, who thought he had called his last basketball game April 27 when the Lakers defeated the Jazz in the NBA Playoffs. "They called me on the golf course."

At first, the offer was for two games. The next day, the Lakers called again and offered a four-game extension.

"They said, 'Would you go with us?' " Hundley recalled. "I said, 'How many do you need me for?' "

Hundley has spent much of his retirement on the golf courses near his winter home in Arizona. He's not watching too much basketball, maybe the occasional Lakers game. Most his sports watching has been the NFL and golf.

"I haven't missed it at all," Hundley said.

It's been a natural fit between Los Angeles and Hundley, who also played for the Lakers.

"He's been fun," Meyers said of working with Hundley. "He's been a good friend for a lot of years. This has been a treat for me. You were lucky to have him for as long as you did."