NBA Champ Says Brandon Roy Doesn't Get Respect He Deserves

An NBA champ said that former Trail Blazers star Brandon Roy didn’t get the respect he deserves.

More than a decade ago, the Portland Trail Blazers had some epic moments with Roy as their superstar. And although he wasn’t able to prolong his NBA career like some of his peers, Roy is still considered as one of the most talented shooting guards to ever play in the league.

In fact, former NBA 6^th Man of the Year and member of the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers championship team J.R. Smith had a unique assessment of Roy as an opponent.

During a recent appearance on “All The Smoke” with fellow NBA champs Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Smith was asked who the toughest player he has ever guarded in the NBA.

According to him, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady were always the toughest ones but Roy was “a problem” any given time. Smith also noted that the former Blazers star didn’t get the respect he deserves even to this day.

“It was different for me because fortunately, I played long enough that you play through eras,” Smith said.

“I can go through like B Roy [Brandon Roy] was a problem. People always talk about obviously Kobe and T-Mac, but when you think about people who were a problem and don’t get the respect, he was a problem,” Smith continued.

Just like his fellow former Blazer Greg Oden, Roy has always been one of those “what could have been” if he stayed healthy stories. The former three-time All-Star played the best years of his career with the Trail Blazers. After being on and off due to injuries, he managed to continue playing and signed with Minnesota Timberwolves but unfortunately, his career was cut short due to knee cartilage deficiencies ( degenerative arthritis).

Roy was the sixth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft out of the University of Washington. The Blazers would acquire the rights to Roy in a draft-night trade with the Timberwolves for Randy Foye. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award during the 2006-07 season and before becoming a three-time All-Star.

In high school, Roy stood out at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington and played his up to become a star at the University of Washington. During his time as a Husky, Roy spent four years as a starter and helped lead them to the Sweet Sixteen in 2006, but would lose to UConn, the eventual National Champions.