The Moda Center had a homegrown legend in its midst. Brandon Roy was in the house cheering for his old team against the Golden State Warriors. The Portland Trail Blazers couldn’t give him a win, falling short in a 114-118 loss, but they sure did acknowledge his presence.

The official Trail Blazers page shared a highlight of Roy of his most spectacular moments in the Portland uniform. A sentimentally-charged caption accompanied it – “Always an honor.” 

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“Rip City please welcome back to the Moda Center tonight, yeah he’s here, the natural No. 7 Brandon. Roy,” The Blazers announcer issued a welcome to Roy and his family in the signature showman style after the highlights of his playoffs high.

Brandon Roy started his career with the Trail Blazers in 2006 and was with them till 2011. He briefly retired but underwent treatment to counter nagging knee injuries. He mounted a comeback but this time with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 3x All-Star retired for good in 2013 at 29 years old after Minnesota waived him off.

The high point of his career in Portland were the 2011 NBA playoffs. He put on quite the performance in Game 4 against Dallas, scoring 24 points and winning that game, though, the championship went to Dallas. Few months after that, 27-year-old Roy announced his first retirement due to his injuries.

He remains one of the finest scorers of the franchise which is equally attached to him. This year, they brought him back as the Blazers rep at the NBA draft lottery. But other than that, he’s been quite shy of the NBA.

The tough road of Brandon Roy

Though Roy has been retired for 12 years now, the fanfare around him in Rip City continues to grow. This is particularly surprising because the 2007 Rookie of the Year has kept his public appearances sparse. In 2020, Roy revealed that he had only attended one Trail Blazers home game since hanging up his boots.

Retiring in his prime couldn’t have been easy for Roy who said, “I just wanted to stay away from basketball, or from even hearing my name,” he said before the draft lottery. He’s now a high school basketball coach but both Roy and the Blazers are open to having him in a front office, ambassador, or mentoring role.

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Clearly, the city was more than happy to welcome him back last night as they shared a short but direct message to their 3x All-Star. Here’s hoping Brandon Roy becomes a more regular fixture at the Moda Center.

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