Monday, March 23, 2020

Who is the Greatest Portland Trail Blazer of all time? (Updated)

Image result for damian lillardHey basketball fans! The Portland Trail Blazers have had many amazing players since 1970. Well maybe a little after that. But the question is, who is the best of the Portland Trail Blazer greats? This can be either Brandon Roy, Damian Lillard, Clyde Drexler, and Bill walton. But what one has risen above the others? What one is the greatest Blazer ever? This is the question that is gonna be answered.

So the first option is Brandon Roy. Roy started in the first 48 games of the 2007–08 season, averaging 19.1 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds. He also led the Blazers to a 13-game winning streak in the month of December. Roy was selected as a reserve for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. He was not on the Blazers for a very long time, and he had a very brutal injury. His injury was cartilage-deficient in his knees. He was a very explosive player so it was hard to recover from that after he got treatment because that really stopped him from using all of his speed. Kinda like a Derrick Rose situation. Where he was a great player before the injury but after he was never a the same player.

The second choice is Damian Lillard. He has been on the Portland Trail Blazers for his whole career. Lillard was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. In the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 31, Lillard recorded 23 points and 11 assists to join Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson as the only players in NBA history with at least 20 points and 10 assists in their NBA debut. He has made a few all-star games and also had a few playoff runs but has never won a championship.

The 3rd choice is Clyde (the glide) Drexer. In the 1983 NBA draft Drexler was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 14th overall pick. He averaged 7.7 points in 17.2 minutes per game in his rookie season. His second season was his breakout season, in which he averaged 17.2 points, 6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In his third season, Drexler made his first All-Star team while averaging 18.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2.6 steals. In the 1989–1990 season, Drexler led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals, averaging 26.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, but his team lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games. In the 1990–1991 season Drexler led Portland to a franchise best 63–19 record. Heavily favored to win the West, the Los Angeles Lakers upset the Trail Blazers by winning the Western Conference Finals.

The 4th choice is Bill Walton Walton overcame all obstacles and led Helix to 49 consecutive victories in his two varsity seasons. Helix won the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Championship in both 1969 and 1970, finishing 29–2 in 1968–69 and 33–0 in 1969–70. Walton had entered high school at a height of about 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall and graduated at about 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) tall. Walton averaged 29 points and 25 rebounds, as Helix finished 33–0 in his senior season. As a senior in 1969–70, Walton made 384 of 490 shot attempts, 78.3 percent, still the all-time national record. In addition, Walton's 825 rebounds that season ranks No 3 all-time. His 25.0 rebounds per game in a season ranks No. 7 all time. Walton was featured in “Faces in the Crowd” in the January 26, 1970 issue of Sports Illustrated, his first national media recognition. “It was a dream come true to be a part of a special team,” Walton said. “Helix is where it all began. It was a humbling honor and privilege to be on the same squad as true legends Monroe Nash, Wilbur Strong, Phil Edwards, and Bruce Menser. I’m the luckiest guy on earth.” Hall of Fame Coach Denny Crum was then an assistant coach at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under coach John Wooden, sent to watch Walton play. Crum first saw Walton in 1968 as a high school junior and was at first dubious when hearing of Walton, but went to scout him anyway. "I came back and told Coach Wooden that this Walton kid was the best high school player I'd ever seen," Crum recalled.

In conclusion, I think the Damian Lillard is the greatest Portland Trail Blazer of all time. He has carried the Blazers through some very hard times and he is a GREAT leader and he treats everyone the same on the team and the staff.

So what do you think about it this!! Put it in the comments! I read all of them so I might respond!! If you got this far put........ #LogoLillard so I know you got that far! Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon!

2 comments:

  1. Good list of players...all were significant contributors during their tenure as Blazers. Others in the top ten might include LaMarcus Aldridge and Terry Porter.

    But I would agree with Lillard bing the No. 1 choice....and he is not done as a Blazer! Some might keep him off the list until his career is over. If so, my nod goes to Bill Walton....he didn't have many years as a Blazer but brought the city a title!

    Lillard has more things to accomplish. Will that include an NBA title? He would have to have a lot of help...and luck. Not sure about that happening. Gotta love his last-second heroics! It's Lillard time!!

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    1. Well first off, Thank you for telling me your thoughts! I really appreciate it, and secondly yes, I do think Damian Lillard will need to have a lot of great players, all he needs is maybe one more superstar/all-star but I don't think CJ is just that. I think that Dame Dolla is in the top 3 PGs in the league!

      Thank you! Have a great rest of your day and stay safe!

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