W hen Jonathan Sanford was 14, he watched the Chicago Bulls win the 1997 NBA championship. Sanford was mesmerized. From that moment, a dream was born.

He didn’t want to be a player. He didn’t want to be a coach. He wanted to be a public-address announcer.

Sanford, 39, is in his fourth season as the Spurs’ PA man. He works every home game, sitting behind the scorers’ table at center court and speaking in front of 18,581 fans. The workload can exceed 50 games a season, depending on the length of the playoffs.

It’s a unique job that requires a specific set of skills.

Sanford is a stickler for detail. He keeps his own stats during games to ensure he doesn’t miss anything, even though most announcers use the stats provided for them. He religiously practices pronouncing players’ names before games. And he rehearses multiple iterations of in-game phrases in front of the most critical of audiences — his wife and five children. They must approve before he introduces them to the AT&T Center faithful.

Sanford first got the gig in the fall of 2013, following a year of PA announcing for the Spurs’ Development League team in Austin. Stan Kelly famously held the job from 1990-2008, followed by Kevin Brock (2008-2012), and then Barry Thom (2012-13).

Sanford has bright red hair that’s visible from across the arena, and a silky, deep voice colored by a southern twang.

“I think his voice is pretty cool,” Danny Green said of Sanford. “I’ve always thought that about all of the guys in the arenas. They make announcements, and then you look at them, and they don’t look like they speak like that. It’s pretty interesting.”

Early in his first season as a pro, he had quite a challenge. He had to introduce Milwaukee Bucks guard Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAHN-iss ah-deh-toh-KOON-boh) to the crowd.

Sanford said the name rolled off his tongue. “The people back in production stood up and applauded,” he recalled.

That season he introduced a special way of saying “Threeeeeeee” any time a Spurs player made a 3-pointer. He lingers on the word for over a second, with his voice starting out low, then slurring up before trailing off.

In San Antonio during a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat, he unveiled “Spurs ball,” with a different emphasis than he had used before. It’s low, loud and echoes throughout the arena.

With three seconds left in the close 2014 game, the referees reversed a call and told Sanford the Spurs would get possession. He said to the crowd, “After review, the call on the floor has been changed.” He paused, then yelled, “Spurs ball!”

“The roof came off the stadium,” Sanford said. “It was amazing that people remembered.”

The most recent addition to his arsenal has been, “two shots” or “three shots” any time a Spurs player is awarded free throws. He introduced it last preseason, and it took about 1½ years to catch on.

In a recent game, Kawhi Leonard was fouled at the end of the first half as he attempted a 3-pointer. Sanford said, “three shots,” and what happened next shocked him.

“You heard everyone yell ‘three shots!’” Sanford said. “I kind of shrunk down in my seat and couldn’t believe it.”

Other PA announcers sometimes encourage fans to repeat what they say, but Sanford refuses to do that. He prefers to let things catch on organically.

Sanford, who is from Jasper, Alabama, is also a youth and family minister at the Southern Hills Church of Christ in Buda, between San Marcos and Austin on I-35. He moved to Kyle, just south of Buda, in 2011 because his wife was offered a job as the head elementary school music teacher for the Hays Consolidated Independent School District.

When they made the move, Sanford, who had been working as a full-time minister in Houston, decided to finally fully devote himself to becoming a PA announcer.

He did some high school games and various other sporting events before he was discovered by Mike Plummer, who is on the Spurs’ game operations team. Plummer persuaded Sanford to give a demo reel to the franchise even though he didn’t have any professional experience.

Sanford didn’t think he had a chance, but his wife, Jennifer, insisted he try.

“She said to me, ‘If you don’t do this, you’re going to regret it,’” Sanford said. “I went into my studio, and I recorded myself as if I were the Spurs’ announcer. I did the starting lineup, did some in-game calls.”

Sanford is grateful Jennifer encouraged him to follow his dream. Now it’s his turn to help her.

During this past preseason, Sanford found out his wife had cancer. She is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

A few times this season, Sanford has stayed up all night with his wife when the pain was too intense for her to sleep. He has then worked a game on no sleep.

Rested or not, for Sanford it’s always a great privilege.

“That moment I walk in, and I’m surrounded by the arena and the fans, it’s a respite,” he said. “It’s a way to get my mind off of the tough things that are going on at home. Everything fades for a bit.”

Sanford said each of his five children now want to be PA announcers. When he picked up his eldest daughter from middle school recently, her friends surrounded him and asked for his autograph.

He said he did not get into announcing for self-aggrandizement or to become a star. He just enjoys being part of the game-night operation.

And he didn’t hesitate when asked about his favorite moment.

It happened when the clock struck zero in the 2014 NBA Finals, and he was able to officially announce — for the first time in his PA career — the Spurs were the league champs.

“It raised chill bumps on my skin,” Sanford said.

mrohlin@express-news.net

Twitter: @melissarohlin