NBA: 5 players that we didn’t get enough of
By Eliot Clough
Brandon Roy
Genetics, man. They’re the worst.
Brandon Roy was supposed to be the savior of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise, and briefly, he was just that for a team that went from winning 32 games his rookie year to 54 two years later.
The University of Washington product came into the league in 2006 and contributed immediately as a rookie, averaging 16.8 points, 4 assists and 4.4 rebounds for the Blazers.
Becoming an exponentially better scorer as his career wore on, Roy eventually scored 22.6 points and dished out 5.1 assists in 2008 leading Portland to its second most wins in the previous 17 years.
Despite being unable to lead the Trail Blazers past the first round, falling to the Tracy McGrady led Rockets in 2009 and the still powerful Phoenix Suns in 2010, Roy provided the Portland fanbase with something the franchise hadn’t experienced in a long time — hope.
The hope would continue with players like LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but due to a condition that caused Roy to lack cartilage in his knees, two years of constant pain ended the talented shooting guard’s career too early.
Roy attempted a comeback with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012, but only played in five games that season.
It’s easy to question why Roy is so high on this list. The pure fact we only saw 4.5 seasons of the talented guard and the fact that he could still be playing today is what catapulted the early retiree up so high.