Anytime a player has to retire before his time it’s heartbreaking. This was especially the case with Brandon Roy. Plagued by knee injuries for much of his career he decided to retire ending what would be a five year career. Nobody doubts how talented he is but, the game took it’s toll on him. Brandon Roy has no cartilage in his knees. He had no choice, the sixth pick of the 2006 NBA Draft and 2007 rookie of the year, had to retire last December at the age of 27.
Portland fans loved Brandon Roy but, so did NBA fans in general. Roy has extremely high work ethic as a result he has left us with some great memories after he retired. Who could forget his 52 point game against the Suns? It was an incredible display of efficient basketball. That night he was 14 of 27 from the field and 19 of 21 from the free throw line. Roy’s most memorable game has to be game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs of the 2010-11 season. Brandon Roy scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Trailblazers erase a 23 point deficit.
Now Brandon Roy is back. “The Natural” has returned to the league, to the Minnesota Timberwolves to be specific. Can Brandon Roy be the impact player he was? The Timberwolves hope so. They hope that he can push them into the playoffs and provide them with the fantastic performances he used to put on. If he can, then along with the development of Ricky Rubio, and the rise of Kevin Love Minnesota can be a team that has the ability to make a playoff push.
When Brandon Roy retired, his teammate at the time Marcus Camby, said his jersey should be retired. Many Blazers fans agreed because Brandon Roy literally gave that team everything he had and he’ll do it again in Minnesota.
Welcome back to the league Brandon Roy. We’ve missed you.
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