Portland Trail Blazers: What if Brandon Roy didn’t have to retire early due to injury?
Rob Ryan
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Mamba Mentality
Metta World Peace (Ron Artest at the time) called Roy the toughest player in the league to defend. Kobe Bryant once said Roy was the hardest player to guard 365 days a year.
Roy would finish his career with an 8-5 record against Kobe and the Lakers, quite the accomplishment during those days.
One aspect that gets forgotten about Brandon Roy was what an intense competitor he was. If it was the fourth quarter, he would often demand to guard the opposing teams’ best player. Whether it was the larger Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony, or smaller Chris Paul, Roy wanted the toughest assignment.
More often than not, he had success. His late-game block on Carmelo at the end of the 2009 Christmas game is a great example. I remember watching him lock up Dwayne Wade at the end of a Portland win. Same with Roy shutting down a prime Joe Johnson. Roy didn’t do as well against Lebron as he did against others, but I respected his effort.
After the injury, his deteriorating knees led to a drop-off in his defense. But for a few years, Portland had a player who rivaled the league’s top stars and didn’t back down on either side of the court. That was something I hadn’t seen from a Portland Trail Blazers star since Clyde Drexler. The main difference between Clyde and Roy was Clyde’s athleticism and Roy’s ability in the clutch.
https://t.co/fgVRKDLa0J : Kobe Bryant: “Brandon Roy has no weaknesses in his game. I told him I don’t know of any player outside of myself that has no weaknesses besides him." https://t.co/4WC7xYn2cc pic.twitter.com/qnBQIBpZ7h
— BasketBlog.com (@BasketBlog_com) July 23, 2019
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