Portland Trail Blazers history is full of superstars, heroes, hyper athletes. Blazers fans have been dazzled over the years by the high-flying dunks of Clyde Drexler, uncanny distance shooting from Damian
Lillard, and the game-saving flurries of Brandon Roy. But today’s Blazer’s Edge Mailbag zooms right past the highlight reels and asks a slightly different question…not who are the best Blazers, but who are the smartest? Let’s explore.
Dave,
It feels like we got an upgrade in bbiq [Basketball IQ] this year. I’m relieved since that’s been missing from the team for a while imo. Can you confirm from your pov and tell me who the smartest players on the current team are? Also bonus who are the smartest Blazers in history in your view?
Ryles
Obligatory caution that when we’re talking about Basketball IQ, we’re talking about things that happen on the hardwood. This doesn’t equate to judging a player smart (or not) as a human being. Knowing someone’s work on the court and knowing them as individuals are two different things.
The current team is hard to judge because there hasn’t been a fair trial. Lineups have changed frequently due to injury and shifting priorities. The Blazers haven’t spent a full season playing the same way in forever. Continuity and familiarity are incubators for intelligence. I can have the greatest ideas and inspiration imaginable. If the world is falling apart around me, they have no effect.
With that caveat, I’d say the obvious choice would be Jrue Holiday. He’s excelled with multiple teams, played at least two positions, contributed to success at almost every juncture, and survived at multiple points on the food chain from apex star to role player. Holiday knows what he’s doing.
For court vision, hope burns bright for Yang Hansen, right? The Blazers got him for a reason. It’s not because of his MJ-like scoring. We’re going to have to see, but Hansen evolving into the next NBA point-center is not out of the realm of possibility.
When speaking of franchise history, a couple obvious names arise. Bill Walton was the original minted genius. His notoriety as a loopy color commentator obscured his basketball insight in his later years, but on the court he was a symphony conductor. Scottie Pippen will surprise no-one. Arvydas Sabonis also understood the game well.
Here are some names you might not think of…
Jim Paxson looked like a scoring star on the stats sheet, but he played as well off the ball as anyone ever has in Portland. He used space and compact shooting to great effect, playing off of teammates and defenses.
Buck Williams was the consummate example of a star tailoring his game to fit his new team. One of the measures of subtle greatness was the ascendance of Kevin Duckworth during Buck’s tenure. Duck was a big guy. Even though he favored the face-up jumper, coaches wanted him down low. He and Buck could have clashed, since that was Williams’ territory. Instead Buck fit in, rebounding hard and anchoring the defense, becoming the frontcourt glue that held the floor together while everyone around him shone, including Duck.
Another underrated smart guy was Damon Stoudamire. He started life as a scoring point guard with an unparalleled drive-and-dish game. He arrived in the league about a generation and a half before that was en vogue. When he came to Portland he evolved his game two or three times. By the end of his career he was playing off-ball half the time, shooting threes, and even figuring out how to leverage his quickness into reasonable defense despite his lack of height. Few players–especially central ones–have morphed their styles so readily.
Surely I’m not the only one with opinions on this, though. What about all of you? Who are the smartest Blazers you ever saw and why would you say that? Share your nominees in the comment section below. Thanks for the question too! You can always send yours to blazersub@gmail.com and we’ll try to answer as many as possible!