Brandon Roy

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Brandon Dawayne Roy

Portland Trail Blazers – No. 7
Shooting guard
Born: July 23, 1984 (1984-07-23) (age 24) Seattle, Washington
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight	211 lb (95.7 kg)
League	NBA
High school	Garfield (Seattle)
College	Washington (2002–2006)
Draft	6th overall, 2006 Minnesota Timberwolves
Pro career	2006–present
Former teams	Minnesota Timberwolves
Awards	2006 Pac-10 player of the year 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year 2007 NBA All-Rookie Team 2x NBA All-Star (2008–2009)
Profile	Info Page

Brandon Dawayne Roy (born July 23, 1984)^[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. He was selected sixth in the 2006 NBA Draft, having completed four years playing for the Washington Huskies. In 2008, he serves as the team's co-captain, along with LaMarcus Aldridge. His nickname is "B-Roy".^[2]

Born in Seattle, Washington, Roy became known for his immediate impact on the Trail Blazers.^[3] Zach Randolph, then the team captain, was traded to the New York Knicks at the end of Roy's first season, which cleared the way for Roy to take on a leadership role on the team.^[1] Though hampered by an injured ankle, Roy won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award for 2006–07 in a near-unanimous vote. He played 57 games as a rookie and averaged 16.8 points per game in the 2006–07 season. He was selected as a reserve to the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, and again as a reserve to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.^[4] Roy played the most minutes of any Western Conference player, and tied for the most points in the West in the 2008 game, and he played the most minutes of any player during the 2009 game.^[5]

[edit] Early years

Roy was born in Seattle, Washington on July 23, 1984. He first started taking basketball seriously while playing for the Amateur Athletic Union, one of the largest sports organizations in the United States.^[6] He attended Garfield High School in Seattle. Roy was considered one of the state's best high school players.^[7] He was an early-entry candidate for the 2002 NBA Draft straight out of high school, but he withdrew his name after consideration.^[8][9]

Roy attended Nate McMillan's basketball camp in the 1990s when the current Blazer coach was still playing for the Seattle Supersonics.

[edit] College career

Roy faced challenges before entering college. His parents and his older brother had not attended college, and due to a learning disability Roy had difficulty with the Scholastic Aptitude Test; his reading comprehension was slow, which increased the time he needed for tests. He had taken the test four times (with tutors) before finally meeting the National Collegiate Athletic Association requirements.^[6] Unsure whether he would be able to attend a four-year college course, Roy worked on the Seattle docks, cleaning shipping containers for $11/hour.^[6]

In 2002, Roy started to play for the University of Washington (UW). He remained there for four years under head coach Lorenzo Romar. He majored in American Ethnic Studies.^[10] After his junior year, Roy considered entering the draft, but changed his mind when he learned that teammate Nate Robinson and high school senior and UW signee Martell Webster intended to enter the draft. He saw an opportunity to rise in the ranks on his college team, and improve his draft position.^[6]

During his senior year Roy averaged 20.2 points per game while leading the Huskies to a 26–7 season and a second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.^[11] Roy was named Pac-10 player of the year and received All-American honors at the end of the season, while also being a finalist for the Wooden, Naismith, Oscar Robertson, and Adolph Rupp awards.^[10] Roy was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but traded to the Trail Blazers for the draft rights of Randy Foye.^[3][12] On January 22, 2009, before a University of Washington Husky home game versus the University of Southern Cal Trojans, his number 3 uniform was retired.^[13]

[edit] NBA career

Brandon Roy defending DeShawn Stevenson in a game

Roy's NBA debut was in his hometown against the Seattle SuperSonics.^[14] He scored 20 points in that game, and 19 in the following game.^[15] An impingement in his left heel kept him out of 20 games early in the season, but he scored his first career double-double shortly after his return, on December 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors.^[15] At the end of January 2007, Roy led all NBA rookies with 14.5 points per game. He became the fourth Trail Blazer to be selected for the rookie squad of the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge since its inception in 1994. He was the first Trail Blazer to participate in the All-Star Weekend since Rasheed Wallace's selection as an all star reserve in 2001.^[16]

Roy's uniform number is 7. He was the Western Conference's Rookie of the Month in January, February, and March 2007.^[15] After averaging 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game during the 2006–07 NBA season, Roy was named NBA Rookie of the Year. He received 127 out of 128 first-place votes.^[15] Due to injury, he played in only 57 games in that season, the second-fewest games for a Rookie of the Year.^[15] He was the third Trail Blazer to win the award, the others being Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks.^[15]

Roy started in the first 48 games of the 2007–08 season, averaging 19.7 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds. He also led the Blazers to a 13-game winning streak in the month of December. Roy was selected as a reserve for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. He scored 18 points in that game, and also had 9 rebounds. He injured his right ankle in the final game before the All-Star Weekend. Although he earned accolades for his play over the weekend, the injury impacted his play in the following weeks.^[17] He played in the Rookie Challenge for the second time, this time as a "sophomore"; teammate LaMarcus Aldridge was also on the sophomore squad.^[18] Roy played nearly 29 minutes in the All-Star game, the most of any Western Conference player. He also tied Chris Paul and Amare Stoudemire for the most points with 18.^[19]

In the 2008 preseason, Roy underwent a 20-minute medical procedure in Vancouver, Washington, during which team physician Don Roberts removed a piece of cartilage that was causing irritation in Roy's left knee. Roy missed several weeks of action because of the rehabilitation, but was ready on the opening day of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers.^[20] On November 6, against the Houston Rockets, Roy hit a game-winning 30-foot jumper at the buzzer in overtime.^[21] On December 18, Roy scored a career-high 52 points against the Phoenix Suns. He made 14 of 27 shots from the field, 19 of 21 from the free-throw line, and 5 of 7 from the three-point line. He also added six assists, five rebounds and a blocked shot, all without a turnover.^[22] On January 24, Roy tied a Blazers franchise record with 10 steals against the Washington Wizards.^[23] On February 8 with the Blazers trailing by 1 against the Knicks, Roy made a layup at the buzzer to win it 109-108.^[24]. As of February 16, 2009, Roy has had 24 shots where he tied or won the games with 35 seconds or less. Roy was again selected as a reserve in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, where he scored 14 points in 7-for-8 shooting, grabbed 5 boards, and dished out 5 assists in a game-high 31 minutes of action.

[edit] Personal life

Roy's longtime girlfriend Tiana Bardwell delivered their first child, Brandon Jr., whom they nicknamed BJ, on March 27, 2007 in Seattle.^[25]

About two months later, Roy took Bardwell out to look at rings "just to get an idea of what she'd like". On June 16, 2007, while both were at Roy's home in Renton, Washington, he sent Bardwell a text message instructing her to look in a drawer in his closet, telling her that she could have whatever she found. Bardwell discovered a ring that she had mentioned she liked, at which point Roy entered the room with their son and said, "BJ wants to know if you will marry his daddy". Bardwell immediately accepted. Roy said the entire proposal was "free-styled".^[26] They plan to marry in August, 2009.^[26]

Roy and Bardwell welcomed their second child, Mariah Leilani, in January 2009. ^[27]

[edit] Awards and honors

• 2009: NBA All-Star^[4]
• 2008: NBA All-Star
• Western Conference Player of the Week for games played between Nov. 24 and Nov. 30, 2008
• 2007: NBA Rookie of the Year^[28]
• 2007: NBA All-Rookie First Team^[29]

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• www.broy7.com Brandon Roy's Official Website
• Brandon Roy Info Page at NBA.com

• Brandon Roy NBA Draft Profile
• University of Washington player page
• Brandon Roy NBA highlights at blazersclips.com