‘Bang, bang, Georges Niang!’: How Kate Scott created her first signature Sixers call

As Georges Niang’s game-tying three-pointer went splash to cap the third quarter of Wednesday’s 76ers victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Kate Scott’s call was automatic.

“Bang, bang, Georges Niang! Again!”

That exuberant catchphrase has become synonymous with Niang and Scott, inspiring T-shirt designs and homemade posters and greetings from strangers during the past year. It’s the first signature call for Scott, the Sixers’ second-year play-by-play television voice who takes the warm response as a sign of acceptance after replacing a legend in a sports-crazed town. Its punchy cadence fits Niang, the off-the-bench sharpshooter who also lets his emotions fly. And “bang, bang!” will forever bond Niang and Scott, epitomizing the way they have unapologetically entrenched themselves in Philly the past two seasons.

“She shows up every day and she’s going to be who she is, and that’s kind of how I look at myself and how I do my job,” Niang recently told The Inquirer. “I’m not trying to be anybody else. I’m just trying to be me. I think that’s why me and her have such a good relationship. We can be ourselves in a city that embraces that.”

» READ MORE: Inside Sixers: Tyrese Maxey’s secret snack, remembering Willis Reed and more from the road

Niang’s three-point proficiency — he entered Friday hitting 40.4% of his attempts this season — is certainly worthy of such public recognition. The Sixers are 21-2 in games when he drains at least four deep shots, including when he went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc against Dallas. That skill had been acknowledged earlier in Niang’s NBA career, when Utah Jazz radio broadcaster David Locke used to say, “Open up the sliding door and throw the triplets in the minivan!” when Niang made a three-pointer.

But these days, people yell “bang, bang!” when they see Niang on the street — once prompting him to immediately leave Scott a voicemail following a particularly hilarious encounter involving a man and a WWE-style hip thrust. Scott also regularly has similar interactions when fans approach her in the Wells Fargo Center, “not saying, ‘Hi, Kate!’ but saying, ‘Bang, bang, Georges Niang!’” she said.

“So I would have been stupid not to realize, ‘OK, something is happening here. Let’s see how far we can take this,’” Scott told The Inquirer.

Still, it’s a relatively new experience for Scott to mold specific calls to the Sixers and their players. Before NBC Sports Philadelphia hired her, she was almost exclusively calling games as a network television and radio broadcaster. Through that more national lens, she did not cover the same team(s) all the time — and certainly did not want to appear to be favoring one over the other during a game.

“You are tasked with being an unbiased, energetic voice for both teams and give everyone watching a reason to care,” Scott said. “So I had to know the stories about everybody and didn’t get to cheer-lead for one team. I was cheerleading for a good game.”

Yet signature calls are a significant part of what endears local broadcasters to fans, by creating and conveying familiarity and passion. Scott has a list of catchphrases coined by former television voice Marc Zumoff — such as “Hold on, we’re coming in for a landing” and “Turning garbage into gold” and “Yes!” — bookmarked on her computer. While watching other broadcasts to study upcoming Sixers opponents, she caught on to popular sayings such as “Kaboom!” from the Miami Heat’s Eric Reid.

Scott quickly identified Niang as a player who could elicit such a call, thanks to his fiery on-court personality paired with the ability to bury big shots. She loves rhyming and alliteration “if I can make it happen without sounding cheesy.” She also appreciated the simplicity of “bang,” but did not want to replicate the single word now famously attached to ESPN’s Mike Breen (who, coincidentally, also called Niang’s Wednesday outburst in a side-by-side broadcast).

So she began experimenting with possibilities in her head while watching plays unfold during shootarounds, or out loud while at home. “Bang, bang, Georges Niang!” first arrived sometime during the second half of last season — with Niang’s blessing.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, do whatever you want,’” Niang said. “I know it’s all in good fun and it’s kind of stuck — and it’s kind of me.”

Scott acknowledges she may have used the catchphrase too much at the beginning of this season. Now, she makes a point to utter it more subtly on Niang’s first make, before building up to an emphatic “bang, bang!” whenever he hits a key second-half shot. During Wednesday’s game, for instance, she gave a quick “bang, bang” when Niang connected on his first three to cut the Sixers’ deficit to 27-22, but not when he sank another on his team’s next possession.

“That’s not easy, and it’s a thing I’m still working on,” Scott said. “I think having a call like this always helps, if you’re smart enough to save it for big moments, which is tough because Georges always seems to hit multiple big threes in a game.”

Now, “bang, bang!” has extended its reach. The Philly Shirt Shop sells a T-shirt featuring Niang, Scott, and the catchphrase with a superhero comic strip-style design. A couple of months ago, renowned public-address announcer Matt Cord approached Scott to ask for permission to use it for the in-arena crowd.

» READ MORE: How the Sixers’ Joel Embiid debunks George Karl’s ‘lazy’ label and makes his MVP case

Scott views it all — even the critiques from those who find the call “annoying” — as “more proof that this city is awesome and I’m so happy to be here.” It reminds her of when she read her high school’s morning announcements in Clovis, Calif. and, when she transitioned to sports updates, held a microphone up to a boom box speaker to blast the Baha Men song “Who Let the Dogs Out.” Some classmates screamed the barkingly repetitive lyrics when they passed her on campus, while others begged her to stop using the song.

“I learned sometimes hate and love are OK, because everyone’s paying attention and it’s a talking point,” Scott said. " … You know I’m big on little steps, so this has been a fun first step [toward acceptance by Sixers fans], and I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Yet this first catchphrase — and its subject — clearly have staying power. Take Wednesday as an example when, in the midst of Niang’s three-point flurry, an in-arena camera spotted a man dancing in the stands.

He had lifted his jersey, revealing a message handwritten in body paint on his stomach.

“BANG

BANG

NIANG”