Brandon Dawayne Roy Sr. (born July 23, 1984) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He currently serves as the head coach of the boys' basketball team at Garfield High School in Seattle. Roy played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. His nickname was "B-Roy", but he was also referred to as "the Natural" by Trail Blazers announcer Brian Wheeler.
Roy was selected sixth in the 2006 NBA draft by the Trail Blazers, having completed four years playing for the Washington Huskies. He became known for his immediate impact on the Trail Blazers. Roy won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in a near-unanimous vote in 2007. He was named to two All-NBA teams and as a reserve to the 2008, 2009, and 2010 All-Star Games. In 2011, Roy announced his retirement from basketball due to a degenerative knee condition, though he returned in 2012 to play five games for the Timberwolves.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Roy attended an African-American Academy elementary school. He first started taking basketball seriously while playing for the Amateur Athletic Union, one of the largest sports organizations in the United States. He attended Garfield High School in Seattle, and was considered one of the state's best high school players. He was an early-entry candidate for the 2002 NBA draft straight out of high school, but he withdrew his name after consideration.
Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Roy was listed as the No. 6 shooting guard and the No. 36 player in the nation in 2002.
Roy faced challenges before entering college. His parents and his older brother had not attended college, and due to a learning disability, Roy had difficulty with the SAT; his reading comprehension was slow, which increased the time he needed for tests. He had taken the test four times (with tutors) before finally meeting the NCAA requirements. Unsure whether he would be able to attend a four-year college, Roy worked on the Seattle docks, cleaning shipping containers for $11 per hour.
In 2002, Roy started to play for the University of Washington (UW). He remained there for four years under head coach Lorenzo Romar. He majored in American Ethnic Studies. After his junior year, Roy considered entering the draft, but changed his mind when he learned that teammate Nate Robinson and high school senior and UW signee Martell Webster intended to enter the draft. He saw an opportunity to rise in the ranks on his college team, and improve his draft position.
On December 29, 2005, Roy led the Huskies to victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils with a college career-high 35 points and became the 31st Washington player to score 1,000 points in a career. The following game he equalled his career high of 35 points in a double overtime loss to the Arizona Wildcats.
During his senior year, Roy averaged 20.2 points per game while leading the Huskies to a 26–7 season and a second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance. Roy was named Pac-10 player of the year and received All-American honors at the end of the season, while also being a finalist for the Wooden, Naismith, Oscar Robertson, and Adolph Rupp awards. Roy had a 2006 pre-draft workout with the Trail Blazers prior to being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the sixth overall pick. However, he was immediately traded to the Trail Blazers for the draft rights of Randy Foye.
On January 22, 2009, before a University of Washington Huskies home game versus the USC Trojans, his number 3 uniform was retired.
Portland Trail Blazers (2006–2011)
2006–07 season: Rookie of the Year
Roy's NBA debut was in his hometown against the Seattle SuperSonics. He scored 20 points in that game and 19 in the following game. An impingement in his left heel kept him out of 20 games early in the season, but he scored his first career double-double shortly after his return, on December 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors. At the end of January 2007, Roy led all NBA rookies with 14.5 points per game. He became the fourth Trail Blazer to be selected for the rookie squad of the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge since its inception in 1994. He was the first Trail Blazer to participate in the All-Star Weekend since Rasheed Wallace's selection as an All-Star reserve in 2001.
He was the Western Conference's Rookie of the Month in January, February, and March 2007. After averaging 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game during the 2006–07 NBA season, Roy was named NBA Rookie of the Year. He received 127 out of 128 first-place votes. Due to injury, he played in only 57 games in that season, the second-fewest games for a Rookie of the Year. He was the third Trail Blazer to win the award, the first two being Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks.
2007–08 season: First All-Star selection
Roy started in the first 48 games of the 2007–08 season, averaging 19.1 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds. He also led the Blazers to a 13-game winning streak in the month of December. Roy was selected as a reserve for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. He scored 18 points in that game, and also had 9 rebounds. He injured his right ankle in the final game before the All-Star Weekend. Although he earned accolades for his play over the weekend, the injury impacted his play in the following weeks. He played in the Rookie Challenge for the second time, this time as a "sophomore"; teammate LaMarcus Aldridge was also on the sophomore squad. Roy played about 29 minutes in the All-Star game, the most of any Western Conference player. He also tied Chris Paul and Amar'e Stoudemire for the most points with 18.
2008–09 season: First All-NBA selection
In the 2008 preseason, Roy underwent a 20-minute medical procedure in Vancouver, Washington, during which team physician Don Roberts removed a piece of cartilage that was causing irritation in Roy's left knee. Roy missed several weeks of action because of the rehabilitation, but was ready on the opening day of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers. On November 6, against the Houston Rockets, Roy hit a game-winning 30-foot jumper in overtime with eight tenths of a second left.
On December 18, Roy scored a career-high 52 points against the Phoenix Suns. He made 14 of 27 shots from the field, 19 of 21 from the free-throw line, and 5 of 7 from the three-point line. He also added six assists, five rebounds and a blocked shot, all without a turnover. On January 24, Roy tied a Blazers franchise record with 10 steals against the Washington Wizards. On February 8 with the Blazers trailing by 1 against the Knicks, Roy made a layup at the buzzer to win it 109–108. As of February 16, 2009, Roy has had 24 shots which tied or won the games with 35 seconds or less. Roy was again selected as a reserve in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, where he scored 14 points in 7-for-8 shooting, grabbed 5 boards, and dished out 5 assists in a game-high 31 minutes of action. On April 13, Roy was named Western Conference Player of the Week for his fourth time. At the time, Clyde Drexler was the only other Portland Trail Blazers to have won the award four times. Roy finished 9th in MVP voting for the 2008–09 season, garnering one 4th-place vote and four 5th-place votes for a total of 7 points. Roy was named to the All-NBA Second Team on May 13, and was the first Blazer to make an All-NBA team since the 1991–92 season.