May
09
Trail Blazers’ Favorite Moments: Brandon Roy
By sarahhecht Posted in: BrandonRoy
Everyone’s had a time in their lives when they couldn’t do what they wanted to do. I’m not talking about getting everything you want in life or monetary constraints, I’m talking about being physically limited. Knowing you literally CAN’T do something.
For me that moment spanned an entire soccer season. I broke my hand during the summer before my senior year and missed almost the entire season. Completely fed up I decided to saw my cast off so I wouldn’t miss our push through the playoffs. We ultimately earned a State Championship.
In the grand scheme of things my experience was a blip on the radar, but it was the center of my whole world at the time. That said, I can’t even begin to fathom what Brandon Roy felt as his body turned against him this season. For him it wasn’t just a one time shot at a Championship that he was missing. It was his career, what he’d dedicated his life to. Seemingly stolen in the moments his knees began to swell.
“There was a time I didn’t know if I would play this year,” Roy said.
Roy missed 35 games of the 2010-2011 season.
Following double knee surgery and a carefully managed return to basketball activities Brandon was able to step out on the court once more. This strategic, and in many ways heroic, return was Roy’s favorite moment of the season.
“I would say my top moment was my first game back, just being back on the court,” Roy said. “Against the Lakers, just walking out there on the court again and moving and playing, it was just big for me personally that I was back playing basketball again.”
And back he was.
In his return against the Lakers on February 23, 2011 Brandon played 16 minutes and totaled five points with a
jumper over Ron Artest and
a perfectly fired three.
One game later he hit a buzzer-beating shot from downtown to take the Trail Blazers to overtime with the Denver Nuggets then pushed to an exhilarating 107-106 victory. He played 24 minutes and scored 18 points.
All this from a man who didn’t think he’d play again this season.
Brandon’s success is shared by anyone who has faced the challenge of fighting their uncooperative body. Anyone who wants to be physically successful with every fiber of their being. Anyone that’s pushed through pain for the love of the game.
Kudos to you Brandon, from all of us.