Does anyone remember Brandon Roy?
There will definitely be.
On the days of the NBA suspension, teams reviewed the unforgettable games or classic moments in the team's history from the old paper pile, and the Blazers officially mentioned the former hero - Brandon Roy. The Blazers look back at the past of the new century in the form of pictures, and the pictures bring the memories back to the turbulent years, although the Blazers did not win the championship during this period, but those moments are still in front of us.
The years never look back for anyone, and the past years are yellowed by passion, like old photos with a sense of vicissitudes. In the history of the Blazers, Brandon Roy has not played for a long time, nor has he ever led the team out of the dark quagmire, but he cannot be ignored. In the darkness of the night, Roy illuminated Portland for a while, not bright enough to discern the direction, where confidence and persistence were engraved.
Brandon Roy was born a cold-blooded killer, and if God could give him a healthy body, what kind of legend would he write? No one can know. When Damien Lillard arrives in Portland, he finds that the Blazers' icy temperament has always been there, like a continuation of a killer fairy tale. Brandon Roy, of course, is a prequel to the killer, a legend of blood and tears, love and hate.
The killer's fairy tale
Where does Brandon Roy's story begin?
High school academic performance was extremely poor, and at one point I wanted to participate in the NBA draft after high school — that was still in 2002, the league also allowed high school players to enter the league, and a year later, high school player LeBron James landed in the NBA as a champion. But you have to admit that the best James-like high school players in the world are hard to find, and Brandon Roy is obviously not a special kind of player.
Joining Brandon Roy of the University of Washington, he averaged only 6.1 points per game in his freshman year, and improved a certain amount in his sophomore season, but his playing time in his junior season declined, and his improvement did not seem to be much. Until his senior year, Roy made great progress, averaging 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, shooting 50.8% from the field.
Roy participated in the draft in this situation, exactly a full decade after the Golden Generation in 1996, will the decade be another new peak? It turned out to be a bit disappointing, that year's draft was disappointing, at least not too satisfying, but the Blazers were the winners of the draft — and of course, that's only in terms of the draft itself.
The Blazers draw the winner
The Blazers had the fourth pick for the 2006 Draft, but after the team's management operation, the fourth pick was packed victor Kojapa from the Bulls for the second pick, and the second year player Terfer was exchanged for the seventh pick in the hands of the Green Army. So that year's draft, the Blazers had a second and seventh pick, and the two players selected were Aldridge and Randy Foye.
— The Timberwolves then sent Brandon Roy, who was drafted for number six, to Portland.
The rebuilding Blazers welcomed two young men of good quality, and the first season of the two of them, coupled with the outbreak of Zach Randolph, was able to win 11 more games than the previous season. Luck seemed hard to stop, the Blazers drew the lottery with only a 5.3% chance, brandon Roy was smiling brightly on the spot, but the Blazers' luck was completely exhausted at that moment.
Like a joke with the Blazers, in the 2007 draft, the Blazers selected Greg Auden, and the "three-junior lineup" shone with talent. "If there is no injury", these words have been mentioned for more than a decade, like a fly on the face of the Blazers, overwhelmed but helpless. How many people will sigh in vain, "If Durant is selected, what kind of Blazers team will it be?" ”
If there are no injuries...
Even without Greg Oden, Aldridge and Roy grew up relatively quickly, and the Blazers' hearts could still spring up with the remaining hope. When Brandon Roy played the all-Star performance, the killer temperament was activated by his coldness and toughness, and the Blazers finally entered the playoffs. Once the Blazers were sad, once the Blazers were full of ambition, and at that time they finally became "once".
Brandon-Roy's Portland era came silently in the League, like a visitor from the sky—a black cape, a bucket hat on his head, and an ancient sword behind him. He hardly said a word of superfluous words, and did not lift his head, as if he had no interest in the world, but the wine jug in his hand was easing the weight little by little. The last drop of wine fell into the mouth and suddenly jumped up, and the opponent had been pierced through the chest cavity.
No one could see clearly how he drew his sword, and no one heard any noise.
In those years, he had a nickname, and people called him "Yellow Mamba".
In 2010, Kobe Bryant was asked on a show "who is the hardest player to defend in the West," and Kobe didn't hesitate to reply: "Definitely Roy, 365 days a year, 7 days a week, but Roy seems to have no weakness at all." This came from Kobe Bryant, who was at his peak at the time, and was obviously the best praise for the younger generation.
Bryant defends Roy
But is there really no weakness to speak of?
In fact, everyone knows that Roy's "Achilles heel" is his injury, which is a major hidden danger at the time of the draft. Austin Angie revealed some of the things that happened in the draft years ago, "The team doctor told us not to choose Greg Oden and Brandon Roy. Roy's history of injuries runs throughout his student days, and God doesn't seem to be generous enough in this regard, adding a sick body to roy's clever mind.
Roy missed 25 games due to injury in his rookie season, but in the next two years, Roy played more than 70 games, and everything was getting better. Roy was named to the All-Star Team and became an All-Star in his second season, and Roy jumped excitedly for ten minutes to celebrate. In his third season, Roy also led the team to the playoffs, where he was eliminated in the first round, but he was able to contribute to 26.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
The Blazers can wait, wait for Aldridge to continue to grow, wait for Nicholas Batum to adapt to the rhythm, wait for Travis Otello to continue to shine... Brandon-Roy rises like a giant star shining in the rose garden, full of fragrance and refreshing. The Trail Blazers presented a five-year, $82 million long offer to hold Brandon Roy firmly in the palm of their hands.
Roy was ruined by injuries
In the season when he got his big contract, bad luck fell on Roy, roy was injured before the end of the regular season, and the first round of the playoffs returned when the team needed it. Brandon Roy failed to prevent the team from being eliminated, and he fell at the crossroads of fate, can he still get back to his former self? Countless players are asking questions to the heavens, and the dull and silent echo makes every player shake his head helplessly.
Fate treats Roy like this, what can he do? The 2010-11 playoffs against the Mavericks , who hadn't yet been renamed the Lone Rangers , were facing a 1-2 draw , with Roy playing out in the fourth game with the team trailing by 23 points and leading the team to reverse the opponent with 18 points in the final quarter. After a 2-2 draw, the Blazers still couldn't get rid of the result of being eliminated in the first round again.
Like Roy's fate, he tried to break free, and the harder he tried, the tighter he was bound.
But you always have to try, and lying there when you are crushed by fate is an act of a coward. And Brandon Roy, even if he has the last bit of strength left, he must fight for it, and the right is to fight back against the cruel fate. Roy said goodbye to the arena, unwillingly and reluctantly, and he did everything he could — to dedicate everything he had to the cause he had worked for.
Unwilling killer
Later, he returned to the league, played only 5 games for the Timberwolves, and left again.
This time leaving is a permanent farewell.
Parting is always painful, especially in the helpless turn of the career upswing, Roy looks back on the wind and dust he has traveled along the way, and sadness will involuntarily come to mind. He still thinks of a lot of things — being drafted at the draft, starting the first game in the preseason against Ray Allen, being named to the All-Star Game for the first time. He's more reminded of those freeze-frame moments — a career-high 52 points in a single game, a playoff high of 42 points, a 0.8-second deadlock...
All of this, in the end, condensed into a memory, transformed into a dream of life.
The killer left gently, but it was as if he had never left.
(Text/Yan Wujun)