He will never play another NBA game.

 

The announcement came last Friday.  The Friday news dump is what you do when you want to slip something by the public.  It's pretty clear that Brandon himself is personally devastated.  He has yet to make an on-camera comment or appear in public.  Not only is this a huge loss for the Trailblazers, it is a substantial loss to anyone who wants to be an NBA fan, but can't stomach the narcissistic egotism so common in professional sports today. 

 

Despite the official list, he was the third greatest Trailblazer of all time  (he placed sixth, with Geoff Petrie, Terry Porter and Maurice Lucas--along with Clyde and Walton--ahead of him).  In his first three seasons, 35 times he either hit a buzzer beater to win a game or send it into overtime, made an assist on such a play, or made a defensive play to prevent the other team from doing so.  Those are Jordanesque  statistics.

 

Take a moment to Youtube "Brandon Roy".  He was the complete package.  He wasn't just a clutch jump shooter.  Over his career, he was right behind Kobe and Lebron in fourth-quarter scoring.  Three games after returning from knee surgery, he personally will the blazers back from an 23-point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs.   In that game, the Blazers trailed by 18 at the end of the third and by 10 with 3 minutes to go.  Roy scored 8 points in the final 2 minutes--including a four-point play to tie it and the go-ahead basket.  

 

On occasion, he would get free in the lane and posterize a defending big man.  He always played taller than his height, and had the ability to switch hands while going to the rim like... well, the guy who's name is mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago.  He is certainly the greatest basketball player ever to hail from the Pacific Northwest.  He also embodies the decency of the region.  His arrival ended the Jailblazer era and made rooting for the team something to be proud of.

 

The dream is over.  The team will move on.  It will never be the same.