Greatest Blazers Ever: Vote for #1

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Walton

Championship or bust.


Plus, it seems like Clyde would care more about where he ranks in the Rockets greatest ever than the Blazers.

[IndianYoda]

Clyde Drexler. Hands down for me. Yes, he fell short of leading the Blazers to a title, but 3-4 span, they were legit contenders. It's more than just the numbers... He had the great nickname, made the Dream Team, etc. He put Portland on the map. And like others have said, if it wasn't for Jordan, he might have been the NBA's most elite SG, if not the best player...

[TBpup]

Vote: Bill Walton

This is very difficult for many of the reasons already mentioned. However....

MVP
Finals MVP
NBA Title
Swept the MVP-led Lakers in the playoffs on the way to the '77 Title
Possibly the best passing big man in the history of the game

Even though his tenure was shorter than Clyde's, it's tough to discount the ultimate goals achieved. on the Glide side, Clyde was an amazing player for a much longer period of time but if we are debating "Greatest", I have to give it to Walton over the 'Very, Very Good' Drexler. Unfortunately for Clyde, he played during the era of the GOAT which kept many a Hall of Fame player away from a Title.

It's why it was laughable that LA talked about being the Greatest Blazer every. Get out of the 2nd round first or you're just a Craig Biggio-esque compiler. Clyde made the Finals twice and should have gone a 3rd time if not for the fumbled fast break pass but each time was held off by multiple Hall of Fame players. Jordan, Pippen, Magic, Worthy, Isaiah, Dumars, Rodman....that is quite a list of top notch talent that it took to keep Clyde from a Title.

It's enough to almost make me re-think my vote. Almost...

[Village Idiot]

Bill Walton for me as well. The leader of the only championship winner and the best player in the association for a brief period

[IndianYoda]

@TBPup... Aww man, no love for Biggio? Well played, though.

[Moonbeam]

Clyde Drexler

Please provide a brief justification, and I'll be happy to accept your vote!

[kdawg32086]

Drexler

Longer period of high level play and spent the majority of his career with the Blazers. Considering peak talent and longevity with the team, I can't really pick anyone else.

[JasonStern]

Current votes:

Bill Walton (11): d-train, PDX MM, TheEnforcer20, Wizenheimer, zzaj, DaVoiceMaster, SalemStoner, mikhail1991, Oden2, mojomarc, CharlesOakley

Clyde Drexler (4): JasonStern, Masterfully, BuckyP, a_sensei

this is why George Bush Jr. served 8 years as president.

Walton

Championship or bust.

Drexler would have easily won championships in the 1970s. although I will admit that the early 1990s Blazers teams would not be as dominant in the modern NBA. it's a side effect of money, popularity, evolution in coaching, advancements in technology and sciences, etc.

Vote: Bill Walton

This is very difficult for many of the reasons already mentioned. However....

MVP
Finals MVP
NBA Title
Swept the MVP-led Lakers in the playoffs on the way to the '77 Title
Possibly the best passing big man in the history of the game

in an era of the NBA where there were 16 teams and people still had to get the ball out of the peach basket after every made shot. plus Walton even admitted Sabonis was the best passing big man in the history of the NBA.

Clyde Drexler

Please provide a brief justification, and I'll be happy to accept your vote!

Drexler needs no explanation.

[Moonbeam]

Final tally:

Bill Walton (20): d-train, PDX MM, TheEnforcer20, Wizenheimer, zzaj, DaVoiceMaster, SalemStoner, mikhail1991, Oden2, mojomarc, CharlesOakley, Soulyss, jeffhardyfan52, Run PDX, Myth, Norm2953, rasta_marley, DeBlazerRiddim, TBPup, Village Idiot

Clyde Drexler (15): JasonStern, Masterfully, BuckyP, a_sensei, Moonbeam, skoharry, Shem, Brandon-Clyde, James72, Capn'O, Quotatious, Billy, DavidSterned, IndianYoda, kdawg32086

Danny Young (1): RTG HD

Big Red takes it!

[TBpup]

Drexler would have easily won championships in the 1970s. although I will admit that the early 1990s Blazers teams would not be as dominant in the modern NBA. it's a side effect of money, popularity, evolution in coaching, advancements in technology and sciences, etc.

in an era of the NBA where there were 16 teams and people still had to get the ball out of the peach basket after every made shot. plus Walton even admitted Sabonis was the best passing big man in the history of the NBA.

Drexler needs no explanation.

I love good humor. There were 22 teams in the league in 1977 and the talent across those teams was very deep compared to how thin it was for years later with expansion. Even now, the East is pathetic and there are teams that are a joke year after year. Peachbuckets....nice history revision similar to the 16 teams.

As for Sabonis, he was an amazing passer but since we only saw a shell of what he could do in the NBA due to injuries, I'll take the guy who won a title. That doesn't take away from Sabas who was also incredibly flashy with his passing. It's a shame we couldn't get him till so late in his career.

Drexler EASILY wins a championship in the 70's? Maybe. There was some guy names Dr J who was Gliding long before Clyde was.

[JasonStern]

Peachbuckets....nice history revision similar to the 16 teams.

my apologies. peach baskets (thus basketball). in fact, here's a photo google found of Walton scoring with 1977 championship team:



while having a player as tall as Walton must have been great as he could get the ball out without having to stand on a chair or step stool, had Drexler played in that era, he would have had the athleticism to get the ball out by jumping.

[mojomarc]

Drexler would have easily won championships in the 1970s. although I will admit that the early 1990s Blazers teams would not be as dominant in the modern NBA. it's a side effect of money, popularity, evolution in coaching, advancements in technology and sciences, etc.

Dr. J was a better version of Drexler, and he couldn't get past Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld's Bullets for two seasons. It's not quite as easy as you make it seem. Clyde in the 70s would have needed substantial help. And the 76-78 Blazers, when healthy, would have destroyed the 1989-1992 team in the frontcourt. Clyde may have gotten his points, but so did Dr. J and he lost in 6.

Vote: Bill Walton

This is very difficult for many of the reasons already mentioned. However....

MVP
Finals MVP
NBA Title
Swept the MVP-led Lakers in the playoffs on the way to the '77 Title
Possibly the best passing big man in the history of the game

in an era of the NBA where there were 16 teams and people still had to get the ball out of the peach basket after every made shot. plus Walton even admitted Sabonis was the best passing big man in the history of the NBA.

22 teams. And while Sabonis was possibly the best passing big man of all time, at worst Walton wasn't that far off. Walton is somewhat known for his false modesty, and I think that may have been an example.

[JasonStern]

Clyde in the 70s would have needed substantial help.

and Bill Walton didn't? all-star teammates Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins just kind of sat on the bench watching...?

And the 76-78 Blazers, when healthy, would have destroyed the 1989-1992 team in the frontcourt.

I'm not so sure. Duckworth was a 2x all-star in arguably the greatest era of centers - Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Moses Malone, Robert Parish, etc. Buck Williams wouldn't put up with Maurice Lucas' enforcer ish. and Cliff Robinson is better than Lloyd Neal.

[mojomarc]

Clyde in the 70s would have needed substantial help.

and Bill Walton didn't? all-star teammates Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins just kind of sat on the bench watching...?

Hollins wasn't an all-star until 77-78, when Portland was so dominant that I'm surprised they didn't name Tom Owens to the all star team. Without that championship, Hollins doesn't catch a whiff of an all star game.

As for Clyde, he had a much deeper team around him that Portland had going into the 76-77 season. That team also had more experience and the Porter/Drexler/Kersey rotation had played together their entire careers. The 76-77 Blazers were cobbled together that season, and while it is true Lucas is the best second fiddle Portland ever had, the impact of Walton was still head and shoulders above anyone else in Blazers' history since he was able to drag up (with Lucas) a bunch of players that were centerpieces of a 37 win team the year before.

And the 76-78 Blazers, when healthy, would have destroyed the 1989-1992 team in the frontcourt.

I'm not so sure. Duckworth was a 2x all-star in arguably the greatest era of centers - Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Moses Malone, Robert Parish, etc. Buck Williams wouldn't put up with Maurice Lucas' enforcer ish. and Cliff Robinson is better than Lloyd Neal.[/quote]

Duckworth was a 2x all-star, but come on. He was a massive defensive liability, and while he had soft hands that was really the only asset he had besides a gigantic rear end (a very significant asset--ask Charles Barkley on this). But beyond that, he wasn't mobile, he couldn't do much for help defense at all, he was eaten alive by good offense centers. Walton would have eaten him for lunch. And I don't think he could have survived well offensively in a series against a good defensive center. Bill Cartright was a good, not great, defensive center, and he held Duckworth to a 90ORtg on .431 eFG% in the 1992 finals, and Walton would have been even better. Walton could have simply blocked that flip shot Duckworth used.

As far as Lucas vs Buck, as much as I love Buck (and I know him a bit personally--great guy) Lucas was bigger, stronger, and meaner. Plus, Lucas could pull Buck away from the boards since Lucas had that 20' clothesline jumper you had to respect. Buck wouldn't have backed down, like he didn't back down from Karl Malone, but Malone destroyed Buck down low and didn't have the outside game quite yet to pull Buck away. Plus, while Buck was a great man-to-man defender, he frequently got in foul trouble with his help defense against cutting wings. Portland's 76-78 offense was all about cutting wings. Lucas would have significantly outplayed Buck. Lastly, Buck was starting to run out of steam almost as soon as he arrived in Portland. He was expected to be the primary defender against all bigs since Duckworth just wasn't any good there, and that wore him down considerably. And if you want a good comparison, Buck had to face Bill Laimbeer (and John Salley and Dennis Rodman, but mostly Laimbeer) in the 1990 Finals, and he was good the first game (20-12) but pretty much sucked after that. The bigger, stronger Pistons just mangled him, and Laimbeer had a 133 ORtg. Lucas wouldn't have been that efficient, but there's no reason to really believe Buck could have slowed down Lucas in a final. With the 76-78 team's speed offense, Luke would have gotten his shots.

Kersey and Gross were similar players in terms of impact. Both liked to play passing lanes, and were good backside defenders. Kersey was by far the stronger player, and of course was a crowd pleaser with his dunks. But he was maddeningly inconsistent offensively. Where he would have helped close the gap somewhat is his back-side rebounding was very, very good. Bobby Gross was never a good rebounder, but he was a good passer and probably brushed off screens better than any player I've ever seen in Portland. He would find himself open at the rim for Walton's drop-offs at least 3-4 times a game, leading to easy points. So the advantage, while going to Kersey, isn't so much as to close the giant chasm between Walton and Duckworth or the big gap between Lucas and Buck.