Matt Cord announces he will forgo retirement to return for 29th season as Sixers public address announcer

After announcing that he would retire after last season, Matt Cord plans to return for his 29th season as the Sixers’ public address announcer, he announced on 93.3 WMMR on Wednesday morning.

The reasons were quite simple.

“They made a trade for Jaylen Brown on July 1,” Cord said. “…And then on July 24, LeBron James signed with the Sixers.”

Cord said the subject of his signature call, Allen Iverson, was one of many people to reach out to him during the summer imploring him to return to the microphone.

When the Sixers were eliminated by the New York Knicks during the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Cord believed his time on the microphone was over. He had come to peace with calling it quits, eager to “go out on top.” But the Sixers’ blockbuster offseason – started by a stunning trade for the five-time All-Star in Brown and punctuated by the signing of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in James – drew him back in.

News of Cord’s retirement last season was met with a mix of celebration and grief. He has become an institutional component of Sixers games. He said in April that he was blown away by the reception he had received in what, at the time, appeared to be his final weeks on the job.

“I didn’t expect this much at all, and it means so much,” Cord told PhillyVoice in April. “Everybody wants to matter in their jobs. No matter what you do for a living, you want to kind of matter. And it made me realize, like, ‘Wow, I kind of mattered to this job.’ It’s been neat. It’s been neat. I’m blessed.”

After a summer of consideration, Cord decided it was only right that the voice Sixers fans have come to know and love will be the one which introduces James, Brown and the 2026-27 Sixers as they pursue a championship.

MORE: Matt Cord talks desire to ‘go out on top’

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