Welcome to LWOS Basketball department “NBA Time Traveler Series,” the column that imagines which retired player from an NBA franchise one would most want to travel back in time to see them play again in their prime. The LWOS Basketball department will review each of the 30 NBA franchises and which retired player would be their “NBA Time Traveler Player.”
Time Travel to See Brandon Roy Play for the Portland Trail Blazers again
The next installment in our NBA Time Traveler Series is the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. Brandon Roy is our choice as the Blazers’ retired player who one would most want to travel back into time to see play in his prime.
Roy a Tough Choice
The Blazers have had many great players in their history. Hall of Famers such as Bill Walton and Clyde Drexler are the first names that come to mind when fans think of the Blazers franchise. Walton won Finals MVP in 1977, bringing Portland their only championship. Drexler is the Blazers’ all-time leading scorer and led his teams to NBA Finals appearances in 1990 and 1992.
However, nobody realized how special Roy was until his degenerative knees cut his career short. He was one of the best players in the NBA during his short career. He could score as well as anyone, pass, and defend. All fans would relish the chance to see him play one more time.
Roy’s Individual Success
Roy dominated the NBA since draft night. The Seattle native won Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-Rookie first team in 2007. He was an All-Star from 2008-2010 and was on the All-NBA second team in 2009 and the All-NBA third team in 2010.
The One Game to Watch Again
It was April 23rd, 2011, Game 4 of the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. the Dallas Mavericks at the Rose Garden, Portland, OR. The Blazers were down 2-0 in the series vs. the eventual champions, Dallas Mavericks. Roy was upset with his bench role after he only played eight minutes in game 2. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little hurt, or disappointed,” Roy said after the loss. “But the biggest thing is to keep moving, to try and keep my spirits up” [Oregon Live]. He rebounded and scored 16 points in 23 minutes off the bench in a game three win at home.
All of his built-up frustration came out in game 4. The Mavs led 67-44 with only 1:15 left in the third quarter. From that moment, Roy scored 21 of his 24 total points. The Blazers won the game 84-82 to tie the series. Roy went on to retire before the 2011-12 season because of degenerative knees. He had a brief comeback with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2012-13 season, but this was the last game in which Roy played like an All-Star.
The Four-Point Play and Game-Winner
With 1:12 remaining, the Blazers trailed 82-78. Roy had the ball at the top of the key. Defensive star Shawn Marion switched onto him, trying to cool the hot hand. Roy then buried a three while drawing a foul. He converted the four-point play to make it a tie game.
With 39 seconds remaining, Roy drove into the lane and hit a runner over Marion to seal the victory.
Although his career was short, fans will never forget what Brandon Roy did in his short time.
Main Photo:
By Keith Allison – originally posted to Flickr as AAAA6677, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6321978
