But on Wednesday night, the veteran play-by-play man was honored for calling his 2,000th Pacers game, receiving a commemorative basketball from team president Larry Bird.

"Longevity is something that's important to me and it's been fortunate for me," said Boyle, who has been with the franchise for 23 years. "It's only through a set of circumstances you end up in a good place.

"When I got here, I knew nothing about it -- whether it was good, bad or indifferent -- except it was the NBA, and I was glad to be here. As the years went by, I found out how lucky I was to be here. We have great owners and (former general manager) Donnie Walsh was a great guy to work for all those years."

Boyle, whose voice is recognizable across the league and across Indiana, worked at radio stations in New York, Minneapolis and St. Louis prior to coming to Indianapolis. He has always believed the fans deserve to hear a fair voice. Whether the local team is playing well or not, he prides himself in being accurate. Not critical, but honest.

An early conversation with Walsh assured him that was what the franchise wanted.

"Two thousand games or 23 years is a product of a lot of things, and at the top of that list, I've always thought, is good people to work for," Boyle said. "Without that, it's hard to stay somewhere. They will get rid of you or you won't want to work for them.

"In this case, it's been a treat to work here. To the extent it's an accomplishment at all, it's a group deal. Without that kind of support from the front office, you just couldn't do it."