Longtime Blazers Radio Broadcaster Brian Wheeler Will Not Return Next Season

Wheels, as he is known, was one of the longest-tenured play-by-play broadcasters in the NBA, calling 1,823 games for the Blazers.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Portland Trail Blazers.
By Matthew Singer

Brian Wheeler, the radio voice of the Portland Trail Blazers for over two decades, is leaving the broadcast booth.

The team announced today that Wheeler will not be returning next season after 21 years with the franchise.

"Brian Wheeler has been an integral part of the broadcast team and Trail Blazers family since 1998 and his voice is synonymous with all the many great play-by-play calls over that 21-year span," Blazers President Chris McGowan said in a statement. "We thank Brian for his contributions to the franchise and wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

No specific reason was given for his departure, but Wheeler has missed large swaths of the past few seasons due to health issues related to scrotal lymphedema, a condition he's struggled with since 2013.

Affectionately known as Wheels, Wheeler—famous for teasing opposing coaches with alliterative strings of adjectives, and for keeping the phrase "boom-shaka-laka" alive into the new millennium—was one of the longest-tenured play-by-play broadcasters in the NBA, calling 1,823 games for the Blazers.

Here's his call of Damian Lillard's 37-foot series-ending dagger against the Thunder these past playoffs:

"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 statement. "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."

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