The Portland Trail Blazers are a couple months away from opening up training camp on the 2026-27 NBA season. The roster is all but full. Barring a trade, it looks like the Blazers will go into the year with a bunch of flashy guards, a deep center corps, and a few wings covering a lot of positions. They have name power aplenty: Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Deni Avdija. Whether they can translate that into actual winning remains to be seen.
Today we want to ask you a question about on-court performance
and impending victories. Think about it for a second, then name the three most important and/or critical players to the Blazers in the coming year.
A couple of caveats. We’re not asking for your favorite players. That’s a different discussion. We’re also not talking about players who are valuable off the court (by salary or morale or whatever) unless you feel that player’s off-court contributions tangibly affect the on-court product. We’re not even looking for the best players per se. The three highest scorers (or most famous stars) on the team might not be the most important factors in winning.
Instead we’re looking for the three players who—by virtue of their talent, skill set, playing style, and approach—are going to be the most critical contributors to the Blazers’ success this season, generating wins for the team. When these players are present and playing well, Portland has a chance. If they’re not, it gets difficult.
Share your trio and your explanation for choosing them in the comments section below!
