When Eric Reid welcomes television viewers on Sun Sports to “another Miami Heat NBA adventure,” he’s not shilling for the organization that has employed him since it joined the league in 1988. No one understands the potential for court drama quite like the Boca resident, entering his 26th season behind the microphone for Miami (23 of them as the team’s TV play-by-play man).
Reid has witnessed virtually every minute of Heat history—from the franchise’s record run of futility in its inaugural season to Miami’s three NBA championships, including titles the last two years with the rock-star trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
But after broadcasting more than 1,800 regular-season Heat games, he also knows that not every adventure occurs with time winding down on the shot clock.
Once, prior to going on the air, Reid and color analyst Tony Fiorentino noticed a young boy in the row behind them with ice cream in one hand and a chocolate chip cookie in the other; they joked about the potential for sugar overload.
“So now we’re doing the telecast, and Dwyane Wade suffers a sprained ankle,” Reid says. “Just as we’re coming back from commercial, this same kid projectile vomits all over the back of Tony’s coat. … I [tried, but I] couldn’t control my laughter on the air.
“The story came out later, but that night I had a number of Heat executives wondering what I thought was so funny about Dwyane spraining his ankle.”
