PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers radio broadcaster Brian Wheeler died on Friday after an extended illness, according to sports columnist John Canzano.
Wheeler was the play-by-play voice of Blazers basketball on the radio for 21 years, calling 1,823 games for Portland since he joined the organization in 1998.
The Blazers released a statement on Saturday, saying in part, "His love for the game and passion for the Trail Blazers came through in every radio call, making each play a thrill for every listener tuning in. As we mourn Wheels passing, we fondly remember his post-win declaration, “And once again we can say: It’s a great day to be a Blazer!"
During the 2018 through 2019 season, Wheeler missed broadcasting most of the games due to illness and did not return. Travis Demers replaced him.
"I want to thank the Portland Trail Blazers for the incredible opportunity and honor of calling radio play-by-play for the past 21 years," Wheeler said in a press release in 2019. “I was honored and blessed to be a Blazer for 21 seasons, and fortunately, I’ve accumulated some precious memories that will last a lifetime.”
Demers told KGW on Friday that Wheeler would listen to every game after stepping down in 2019.
"The world lost a great man today," Demers continued. "He was a mentor to me. He really went out of his way to help me put on the best broadcast that I could. He was the voice of a generation and more."
Demers said he would honor Wheeler by dropping Wheeler's iconic "Boom Shaka Laka" into his broadcast.
Journalist Kerry Eggers, a former Portland sports writer of 45 years, echoed Demers, saying to KGW, "We lost a good man. He had a great heart; he was funny; he was fun to be with."
Eggers, who sat in front of Wheeler in the press box and hung out with him outside of work, described the 62-year-old as a "personality" and "character."
"We would hear some four-letter words coming out of his mouth with some of the referees' calls," Eggers reminisced, describing a time when an enthusiastic Wheeler knocked over a monitor on his desk.
"He was a guy who liked to have fun with words. I remember the alliterative triplicates he would say about other coaches when they wanted a time-out (like) 'Greg Popovich is humiliated, humbled and harassed' or 'Jerry Sloan is discouraged, dejected and defeated.' ...He was proud to be a Blazers guy. ... He loved his players, and in most cases, they loved him."
Also known as "Wheels," Wheeler began his sports broadcasting career in Chicago, then moved to Seattle, before settling in Portland. He was also a sports broadcasting instructor for Sports Management Worldwide, an online sports career training school, based in Portland.