Brandon Roy is one of the biggest “what if’s,” in NBA history. When discussing players who were on the verge of greatness before injuries ruined their potential, these names always get brought up. Tracy McGrady, Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, and of course, Brandon Roy. For a time, it looked like the Portland Trail Blazers were building a contender in the mid to late 2000s with the likes of Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge leading the way.
Sadly, injuries would always ruin these plans. Eventually, Roy was forced to retire thanks to a degenerative knee condition taking away what could have been one of the most electrifying stars in NBA history. Despite a short career, Roy still had a very impressive sample. Let’s take a look.
Brandon Roy: What Could Have Been
Brandon Roy’s All-Star Seasons
Roy played a total of six seasons. Bear in mind, he first retired in the 2011-12 season and then returned to the league and played only five games with the Minnesota Timberwolves before officially calling it a career. However, Roy was still an All-Star for half of his seasons. He made three All-Star Games and it was a spot well-earned each time.
His first All-Star campaign in his sophomore season where he tallied 19.1 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.7 total rebounds per game. Not to mention, Roy also averaged a win-share of 8.0 in the 2007-08 season to go along with a player efficiency rating of 19.4. He would continue to improve the next year as he earned his second All-Star appearance with totals of 22.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game. He would tally a win-share of 13.5 and a player efficiency rating of 24.0 during this particular campaign.
Finally, Roy made his last All-Star appearance in the 2009-10 season. He averaged 21.5 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game. Not to mention, Roy also tallied a player efficiency rating of 21.3 and a win-share of 9.1. His numbers started to really dip the next season when he started in only 23 games which were the beginning of the end of his career. Brandon Roy’s knees may have robbed him of a possible Hall of Fame career, but we were still blessed to see what he could do in his prime.
What Happened?
As alluded to already, the Trail Blazers had a solid team on paper. A dynamic duo of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge should have had more postseason success than they actually achieved. Unfortunately, a slew of injuries always seemed to plague Portland at the worst times. Including Brandon Roy.
Roy announced his first retirement in October of the 2011 season. His knees had degenerated so much, no cartilage was to be found between the bones and the knees. As a result, this stopped what was supposed to be a promising NBA career in its tracks. However, Brandon Roy was not quite done. The following year, Roy came back and joined the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sadly, he was only five games into the season before suffering a season-ending injury. This was the nail in the coffin to what was supposed to be a very exciting career.
What if Brandon Roy’s Knees Never Betrayed Him?
It is hard to determine whether or not Brandon Roy would have won a ring if he never got hurt. What we can safely assume is that he would have ascended to being a top 10 player in the world during his prime. As a result, the Trail Blazers would have had much more postseason success. Not to mention, it would have given them one of the deadliest duos in the league with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy leading their squad.
There is a slight chance that Roy could have cemented himself as a top-50 player of all time had his knees not gave out. If you do not believe so, then just take a look at some of his highlights from his All-Star days. The man was one of the most electrifying players and had so much potential before his knees started to degenerate. As a result, we have another big “what if,” for the NBA record books.
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