8. Brandon Roy Brandon Roy stands as one of the best/worst what-ifs to live in the shooting guard position after Jordan. Drafted in 2006 with the sixth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Roy was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for the rights to Randy Foye. Rookie of the Year in 2007 and a three-time NBA All-Star by the time he was 25, Roy had his career cut short by degenerative knees and retired from the game in 2011. A comeback with the Wolves in 2013 was unsuccessful, and he did not find a team for the 2013-2014 NBA season. So why is he on this list? It’s because he was a tremendous talent, even through his injuries. He had 85 games with 25 points or more, averaged a 19-4-4 in his four seasons with the Blazers (no mean feat in Nate McMillan’s slower-than-sludge offensive system), was the new face of a troubled franchise (go search Portland Jail Blazers sometime), and could score from anywhere at any time. Unfortunately for us, Roy’s knees never cooperated. After stringing together back-to-back 70-plus game seasons, Roy would only play in 115 games from 2010-2013, the result of four knee surgeries and zero cartilage left in either. Luckily for us, NBA games were made for Memorex, and the NBA put together a career top 10 for Roy a few years back.
Brandon Roy brought me back to the Blazers after the Jail Blazers era. He will always be one of my favorites. I got nothing bad to say about the guy.
Yeah, that was weird. I'd also put Sprewell in there, maybe ahead of Roy, since he got to the NBA Finals in 1999, ECF in 2000, and then the WCF in 2004. He always he rose his game in the playoffs, averaging more ppg.
Sprewell topped the "Choking Your Coach" list, though, as well as the "Chase Your Teammate Around the Practice Facility with a 2x4" roster, too. Also, "Biggest Boneheaded Decision to Opt Out of His Contract for an NBA Player." Spree was quite the leader in many NBA categories. He's broke now, poor guy. http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/19/10-star-athletes-who-excelled-at-losing-millions/
Roy was wide enough to play almost half his minutes at Small Forward. How many on that list can say that? He was probably the most consistent clutch player I've seen. I followed Mr. Clutch when I lived in Lakerland, and his gamewinners were outside shots, not a powerful mix like Roy's.
its nice to see Roy isn't completely forgotten by basketball fans http://www.thecoli.com/threads/the-sg-spot-would-be-so-much-better-if.205717/
He'll never be forgotten by me. He made it fun to be a Blazer fan again, and is still my favorite Blazer of all time.
If I posted there I'd have to learn a whole new language. http://www.thecoli.com/threads/damn-this-por-gs-game-is-piff.205755/
That's funny - I grew up there too then, and I have always said that Brandon Roy was the most like Jerry West of any player I have ever seen. The poise, the control, the clutch plays...
Absolutely. I truly believe he saved this franchise for Portland. So many people stopped caring about the Jail Blazers, and the way he played the game brought them back. I fully expect that there will be a B-Roy appreciation night. In fact, I think it should be this playoffs, so we can show that classic game winner over the Rockets [video=youtube;vOdj9wmCIzM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOdj9wmCIzM[/video] Could you imagine a Roy Lillard backcourt? :drool:
