The
Atlanta-born 6'8"
forward later moved to Texas where he attended Samuel Clemens High School in
Schertz, Texas. He continued his basketball journey at
St. Mary's University, Texas before being drafted by the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 1977 NBA Draft. Robert "Bobby Joe" Reid played 13 seasons (1977–1982; 1983–1991) in the NBA as a member of the
Houston Rockets,
Charlotte Hornets,
Portland Trail Blazers, and
Philadelphia 76ers. He had his best overall season in
1980-81, when he was the second leading scorer on the Rockets team that reached the
NBA Finals, where he led all scorers in Game 1 with 27 points, before losing to the
Boston Celtics. The following year, after the Rockets traded reigning
MVP Moses Malone to the
Philadelphia 76ers, Reid unexpectedly retired from basketball and moved to
Miami,
Florida to focus on his
Pentecostal faith. After a year away from the NBA, he returned to Houston after they drafted
Ralph Sampson with the first overall pick in the
1983 NBA draft. One of Reid's most notable moments in the NBA was his three-point shot in Game 5 of the 1986 Western Conference Finals against the
Los Angeles Lakers that tied the game with just seconds left, helping rally the Rockets into defeating the Lakers and reaching the
1986 NBA Finals. Robert Reid is one of the earliest pioneers of the point forward role in NBA history. While with the Houston Rockets, coach Del Harris openly recognized him as such. Reid's versatility was demonstrated by his 8.7 assists per game in the 1986 NBA Finals and the effective use of him, a natural forward, as a point guard. When he concluded his NBA career in 1991, Reid had tallied 10,448 career points, 4,168 career
rebounds, and 2,500 career
assists. ==Personal life==