The Milwaukee Bucks made history on Wednesday by hiring Lisa Byington as their main television play-by-play broadcaster. She takes over the role from Jim Paschke.

Paschke, 70, has been the team’s broadcaster for 35 years. In May 2021, Paschke announced his retirement from sportscasting.

Byington said she was “absolutely thrilled” and thanked the Bucks for the opportunity.

“I understand the groundbreaking nature of this hire, and I appreciate the fact that during this process that aspect was addressed but never made a primary focus,” Byington said in a statement the team released. “In fact, I applaud the Bucks for taking the first steps toward making hires like this more of the norm in the NBA. Because it’s time.”

Bucks and Fiserv Forum President Peter Feigin released a statement on this historic moment.

“We are so excited to welcome Lisa to the Bucks family and to bring such a talented play-by-play announcer to our broadcast team,” Feigin said in the statement.

Byington previously did play-by-play for FOX during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019. She was also the first female broadcaster to call the NCAA men’s basketball tournament during March Madness for CBS/Turner Sports.

Recently, Byington called men’s and women’s soccer games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for NBC Sports.