Portland Trail Blazers: 25 Best Players To Play For The Trail Blazers
By Phil Watson
Bob Gross put together a solid senior season at Long Beach State, two years after arriving as a transfer from Seattle, averaging 16.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
The Portland Trail Blazers liked the potential in Gross and took him in the second round, 25th overall, of the 1975 NBA Draft.
He became a stalwart for the Blazers’ title team in 1977 and was an All-Defensive selection in 1977-78.
Gross may have played the best basketball of his career against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1977 NBA Finals.
He averaged 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.2 steals in 27.7 minutes per game, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and hitting 12-of-14 from the free throw line as the Blazers won the title in six games.
But a broken ankle late in the 1977-78 season plagued him the rest of his career and Gross remained unsigned after the 1981-82 season.
He did eventually sign with the San Diego Clippers in February 1983 as a veteran free agent.
In seven seasons in Portland, Gross averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.1 minutes per game, shooting .514/.160/.802.
After a 27-game stint with the Clippers, Gross retired after the 1982-83 season.
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