The Natural. There really isn’t much more you can say, is there? The man who turned around the Portland Trail Blazer franchise, who re-energized a rabid fan base and who brought Blazer Mania back to the Rose Garden – announced his much too young retirement today. Brandon Roy is 27 years old. To the Natural, from a diehard Blazer fan, I want to sincerely thank you. You rescued this franchise from the dark ages, from apathetic fans and from a half empty Rose Garden Arena. You gave us something to be proud of, something to brag to our friends about – ‘Did you see Brandon Roy last night?!?’ – you gave us hope, but most importantly you gave us Brandon Roy.
We reside in a time in the NBA in which it appears the power structures are going to shift to a small number of major, big city markets. First, Garnett and Allen join Peirce in Boston; then Lebron and Bosh team up with Wade in Miami; now a potential Chris Paul Trade to the Lakers; Amare and Carmello in New York; maybe Dwight Howard joining Deron Williams and the Nets. My point is, in this league the little guy stands no chance. Brandon Roy changed that notion. When his last contract was up, Roy could have gone and played for any team in the NBA. They would have salivated over getting a top notch talent like him on their squad. Instead, he resigned with the Portland Trail Blazers. He was loyal – something you can’t say about too many players in the NBA these days. But, now that it’s all said and done, we’re left with another – ‘what if?’
As a Blazer fan, it’s rather easy to have a pity party. It’s easy to sit back and think of the shoulda’, coulda’, woulda’ scenarios that might have been. Maybe instead of drafting Sam Bowie with the #2 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, we took a Hall of Famer’ like John Stockton, Charles Barkley or some guy from North Carolina by the name of Michael Jordan. Maybe the year we put together the best team in franchise history, the 1991-92’ Blazers – we don’t run into Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals. Or perhaps we hang on to a 16 point, fourth quarter lead in 2000 and take down the Las Angeles Lakers in game 7 of the Western Conference Finals (and of course go on to rout the Philadelphia 76ers’ in the NBA Finals). More recently, maybe we take NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant over a center by the name of Greg Oden with the #1 overall pick, who has played 82 games in four NBA seasons. And finally, what could have been if only Brandon Roy had healthy knees.
Four years ago, being a Blazer fan was like walking on cloud nine. We had young, ready to bloom stars in Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge – with a cast of perfectly fit role players. Then the #1 overall pick fell into our lap in the form of the center of a lifetime Greg Oden. With those three franchise corner stones, it was certain the Blazers were destined to return to the glory of their championship days back in 1977, it was only a question of how many they would win. It was Brandon Roy’s team, and he was going to lead us to the promise land. Yet after the news today, it’s finally clear that the Brandon Roy era is over – we blinked, and now it’s gone.
One can only hope that Brandon remains a part of the franchise. They need to retire his jersey, put a statue of him up in front of the Rose Garden and keep him involved in the city and with the team. Because, after all, he is the best player ever to dawn a Portland Trail Blazers uniform. A bold proclamation, I know, especially considering the career and love this city has for Clyde “The Glide” Drexler. But being the stats ‘guru’ that I am, take a look and compare the numbers between Drexler’s first four years in the NBA, with Roy’s first four years in the league. Below is the season, their points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game and the corresponding team record.
· Clyde Drexler
| Year | PPG | RPG | APG | Team Record |
| 82’-83’ Rookie | 7.7 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 46-36 |
| 83’-84’ 2nd Year | 17.2 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 48-34 |
| 84’-85’ 3rd Year | 18.5 | 5.6 | 8.0 | 42-40 |
| 85’-85’ 4th Year | 21.7 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 40-42 |
The year before Clyde Drexler came to Portland, the Blazers were 42-40. Though the only feather Clyde has in his cap that Roy doesn’t – during his first four seasons the Blazers made it out of the first round of the playoffs twice, though never made it past the semis.
· Brandon Roy
| Year | PPG | RPG | APG | Team Record |
| 06’-07’ Rookie | 16.8 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 32-50 |
| 07’-08’ 2nd Year | 19.1 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 41-41 |
| 08’-09’ 3rd Year | 22.6 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 54-28 |
| 09’-10’ 4th Year | 21.5 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 50-32 |
The most astonishing thing about Brandon Roy and his affect on the team, in my opinion, is that the Blazers went 21-61 the season before he arrived. He subsequently improved the teams win – loss record by 10 games a season his first three years.
You can debate the two until you are blue in the face, but there’s no doubting the impact Roy had in his first four NBA seasons was far more influential than that of Drexler’s. Obviously, for an entire career, Clyde gets the nod. But only because Brandon left us with – what could have been.
It is a sad day in Portland and for Blazer fans everywhere. The face of the franchise, our hero, our captain, our leader and favorite player – is done. But while we feel sorry for ourselves, for another notch on the belt of our cursed franchise, think of how Brandon must feel. What if you worked your entire life for a goal, reached that goal, became an NBA All-Star – and then had it all taken away in the blink of an eye because of bad knees. While were left thinking of what could have been, imagine how Roy feels when he thinks about what could have been. There is no doubt in my mind that Brandon would have been a Hall of Famer’ – and I’m pretty sure there was no doubt in his mind either. Yet, both Blazer fans and Brandon are left to ponder why his body failed him. In an era of sports when guys hang on for too long, until they can no longer perform and the sport gives them the boot into retirement (Brett Favre) – today, we lost a legend far too soon.
Keep the memory of his game alive – the dazzling moves, the highlight dunks, the game-winning shots, the clutch performances and how he put his body on the line night after night for his team, himself and for this city. And remember how much this all meant to him, go youtube how he cried after the incredible fourth quarter comeback last season in game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks. I think we all meant as much to Brandon as he meant to us – and for that, Natural, we thank you. We thank you for saving this great basketball town, we thank you for saving the Rose Garden, we thank you for giving us something to root for on the court – and most importantly, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to watch one of the best players’ in the NBA for five seasons. You will truly, truly be missed.
