Eight NBA Finals and counting for TU alumnus, ESPN editor

By Kyle Hobstetter on June 21, 2017

This month, basketball superstar LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, marking his eighth time playing for a championship. But he wasn’t the only one making an eighth trip to the league's final series.

For eight of the last 12 years, Towson University's Adam Reisinger ’02 has covered the series for ESPN. He currently serves as a senior editor on the NBA Editorial Group for ESPN.com.

And while some may grow restless after being at the same place for over a decade, Reisinger couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.   

“From the time I could remember, this was always what I wanted to do,” he said. “It was ESPN or nothing. I always wanted to be there and do something, so my goal was to get there and make my mark. It’s been a great 12 years.”

Before joining "The Worldwide Leader in Sports," Reisinger took on a number of roles for TU's “The Towerlight:” staff writer, assistant sports editor, assistant news editor, online editor and editor-in-chief.  

He was part of a student staff that broke the information that led to then-university president Mark Perkins' resignation. He also covered the TU men’s lacrosse team's trip to the Final Four in 2001.

The sports management major used his work at “The Towerlight” — and an internship with “The Baltimore Sun” — to learn the ins and outs of the journalism business.

“Being there taught me the basics in getting starting in the industry,” he said. “It taught me how to write and edit a story, what goes into telling a good story and working with deadlines.  It also gave me four years of making contacts with people.”

When asked about his favorite moments from covering eight NBA championship series, he mentioned two specifically: Game 4 of the 2008 Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics when the Celtics make a record-setting comeback and the 2016 Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.

During the Lakers–Celtics finals, Reisinger was working in the production truck and prepping graphics for the postgame, as the Lakers were leading by 24 points.

“All of a sudden we look up at the screen, and I ask, ‘Guys, when did the Celtics get the lead?’” Reisinger said. “With three minutes left, we had nothing prepped for the Celtics winning the game.”

He was in the arena for Game 7 when the Cavaliers finished a historic 3-1 comeback to win the franchise's first NBA Championship, over the Warriors.

“Last year was one of the most memorable finals for anyone who has been doing this,” Reisinger said. “Everything slowed down to an instant, and we couldn’t believe the Cavaliers actually pulled it out.”

He understands how lucky he is to cover some of the best athletes in the world.

“You get sense of greatness that you don’t get by watching them on television,” Reisinger said. “From the superstars to the last guy on the roster, they are the best in the world at what they do. I try not to lose sight of that.” 

Reisinger's favorite interview wasn't even about sports.

“I talked to Chicago Bulls' center Robin Lopez about New York Comic-Con,” Reisinger said. “It was just like two regular guys talking about comics—favorite characters, books we were reading and what we were seeing at the convention.”

He is always hungry to find a different angle for the story, and that hunger is his no. 1 piece of advice for TU's future journalists.

“Never be satisfied with where you are,” he said. “Even when I was the editor at the Towerlight, it wasn’t smooth sailing. There is always 10 people trying to figure out how to jump over you.

“Set yourself apart then just keep moving forward.”

Check out some of the stories he's produced for ESPN and stay up-to-date with  Reisinger on Twitter.