Attention, Rip City.
We are halfway through our Top 50 Portland Trail Blazers All-Time Player Rankings.
Oregon Sports News has already covered Nos. 50-41—including Robin Lopez, Sam Bowie, and Steve Blake. And we’ve also hit Nos. 40-31—including Jusuf Nurkić, Anfernee Simons, and Andre Miller.
Below, you’ll find Nos. 30-21, which include Trail Blazers players spanning 1975 to 2015.
*Check out Part 1 of OSN’s All-Time Trail Blazers Player Ranking to review our complete voting method.
Portland Trail Blazers All-Time Top 50 Player Rankings
Nos. 50-41
50. Robin Lopez, C
49. Dave Twardzik, PG
48. Joel Przybilla, C
47. Kenny Carr, PF
46. Kermit Washington, PF
45. Tom Owens, C/PF
44. Sam Bowie, C
43. Dale Davis, C
42. Steve Johnson, C
41. Steve Blake, PG
*Click here to read about Nos. 50-41.
Nos. 40-31
40. Billy Ray Bates, SG
39. Kenny Anderson, PG
38. Isaiah Rider, SG
37. Steve Smith, SG
36. Danny Ainge, G
35. Jusuf Nurkić, C
34. Anfernee Simons, SG
33. Bonzi Wells, SG/SF
32. Andre Miller, PG
31. Wesley Matthews
*Click here to read about Nos. 40-31.
Nos. 30-21
*Note: All stats apply only to a player’s time in Portland.
30. Lloyd Neal, PF/C
Years: 1972-1979
Games Played: 435
PPG: 11.1
RPG: 7.7
BPG: 0.9
HI RK: 26
LO RK: Unranked
Lloyd Neal can’t claim the title of “Original Trail Blazer,” but he’s awfully close.
Joining the team in 1972, Neal is “one of” the original Blazers. He’s one of the relatively few players on our list to earn a ring with Portland in 1977, and he’s also someone who earned an early reputation as a do-it-all big man for the franchise.
29. Bob Gross, SF
Years: 1975-1982
Games Played: 466
PPG: 9.2
RPG: 4.5
APG: 3.0
SPG: 1.2
HI RK: 23
LO RK: 46
Bobby Gross’ name still resonates with fans of the ‘77 championship run.
So far, two players in franchise history have had their No. 30 jerseys raised to the Moda center rafters.
Those players would be Terry Porter and Bob Gross.
28. Calvin Natt, SF/PF
Years: 1979-1984
Games Played: 333
PPG: 17.2
RPG: 6.9
APG: 2.2
SPG: 1.2
HI RK: 18
LO RK: 38
With all respect to someone who helped Portland transition out of its Bill Walton era and usher in the Drexler-Porter-Duckworth era, Calvin Natt has become a name lost to time for too many fans.
For those who need a quick education, how’s this for quick: Natt was a baller.
Calvin Natt joined Portland at just 23 years old, and not only did he score, he did it at an efficient level. The swingman went pound-for-pound with small forwards, and years after becoming Portland’s key return in the 1980 Maurice Lucas deal, he became a key trade chip to land Kiki Vandeweghe in 1984.
From OSN’s Nick Bartlett: “Natt was extremely efficient during his time with the Blazers. In the 1981-82 season, he shot 57.6 percent from the field; in 1983-84, he improved to 58.3 percent.
“Natt averaged 17.2 points on 54.3 percent shooting during his time in Portland,” Bartlett continued.
Natt earned his spot on our list.
27. Brian Grant, PF/C
Years: 1997-00
Games Played: 172
PPG: 10.2
RPG: 8.0
APG: 1.3
BPG: 0.6
HI RK: 20
LO RK: Unranked
Brian Grant checks in at No. 2, and OSN’s Casey Mabbot has summed up exactly what he meant to Rip City.
“Grant was a great forward when they were getting harder to find, with many elite teams going with two giant centers—one masquerading as a forward—and surrounding them with athletic shooters.
“For Portland,” Mabbott continues, “Grant was a guy who didn’t mind crashing the boards and taking shots to the head and body while cleaning up the garbage. He was the Buck Williams of the next generation. And while so many players value their talent over hard work, Grant was one of the few who had so much of both. You had no choice but to love him.“
On a personal note, BG was my favorite player of the time. He was such a staple of the roster that it’s surprising to remember he was only here for three seasons. But in those few years, that toughness Casey talked about was displayed in playoff runs against Shaq and the Lakers. It was front and center whenever he faced stars like Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and, of course, Karl Malone.
Grant is 6’9” but played like he was 7’3”. Truly.
That, or he played like the undersized center he was, meaning he embraced the challenge every night out.
26. Larry Steele, SG/SF
Years: 1971-1980
Games Played: 333
PPG: 17.2
RPG: 6.9
APG: 2.2
SPG: 1.2
HI RK: 20
LO RK: Unranked
If you’re looking for a piece of trivia at your next party, look no further than this nugget from OSN’s Arran Gimba:
“Larry Steele led the NBA in steals during the 1973-1974 season with 2.7 per game, finishing his career at 1.8 SPG.”
Gimba continues: “He played every night despite injuries. He also had a knack for being in the perfect offensive position for wide-open shots. And yes, he was on the 1977 championship squad.”
Steele led the league in steals the first year the NBA recorded steals.
If that’s not a fun fact to liven up a party, I don’t know what a fun fact for a party is. Literally.
25. Nicolas Batum, SF
Years: 2008-2015
Games Played: 481
PPG: 11.2
RPG: 5.1
APG: 3.0
3PT%: 36.3
HI RK: 22
LO RK: 32
Nicolas Batum just cracked our Top 25, with Larry Steele only three “voter points” away from winning this honor.
With near-ties in mind, I’ll remind you now of our voting process:
Each voter built their rankings, and then a “voter point” was applied to each player. If a player was voted No. 1, he earned 50 voter points. A No. 2 vote was worth 49 points … and that system was consistent through No. 50, where a player earned one single “voter point.”
At No. 25, Batum finished with 216 voter points, while Steele checked in at No. 26 overall with 213 voter points. That is a slim margin. And it’s important context.
As much as winning a championship with the Blazers matters, Batum surpasses someone of Steele’s influence with his Swiss army knife skill set and stat-stuffing tendencies.
Batum recorded a freaking 5×5, after all. And he was a cog in different iterations of rosters, each of which prioritized bigger names, making him an unsung hero of the post-Roy era.
24. Mychal Thompson, C
Years: 1978-1986
Games Played: 551
PPG: 16.7
RPG: 8.9
APG: 3.4
SPG: 0.9
BPG: 1.4
HI RK: 19
LO RK: 30
Checking in at No. 24, Mychal Thompson’s name evokes good vibes to this day across Rip City.
As one of four total No. 1 picks in Trail Blazers history, Thompson is, admittedly, the one some forget. After all, when grouped with LaRue Martin and Greg Oden—not to mention Bill Walton—it’s easy to overlook someone today’s youth knows for being Klay’s Dad instead of an NBA legend.
That said, folks in Portland remember. From OSN’s Nick Bartlett: “Mychal Thompson is probably one of the most complete centers to ever play for the Blazers. Thompson could not only score, averaging 16.7 ppg during his time in PDX, but he could also pass, rebound, and play defense.”
23. Scottie Pippen, SF
Years: 1999-2003
Games Played: 272
PPG: 11.4
RPG: 5.3
APG: 5.0
SPG: 1.5
HI RK: 15
LO RK: 33
Scottie Pippen comes in at No. 23 (ironic), and I’m kicking it to OSN’s Jared Wright, who ranked Scottie higher than anyone in our group:
“I had Scottie at 15 in my rankings. While I will concede that was too high, I’m also old enough to remember with perfect clarity how damaging to the community those Jail Blazers teams were and how Pippen and Arvydas Sabonis were the only players that didn’t seem like asholess. (Rasheed Wallace isn’t up there in the rafters with Terry Porter and Bobby Gross with the retired No. 30 for a reason, ya’ll.)
As Wright eludes, impact on the team and community was in our ranking criteria. In Pippen’s case, he added veteran leadership alongside Sabonis while being the more willing of the two to take on a vocal role in the locker room.
The production, for the record, was there, too. In Pippen’s first season with the team, he started in all 82 games, scored an efficient 12.5 points per game, and collected 5.0 assists and 6.3 rebounds.
Pippen was an All-Defense Second Team player that year and Portland earned a Western Conference Finals date with the Lakers, all to be spoiled by the now-infamous 2000 WCF Game 7.
In total, Pippen’s run in Portland lasted four years. While that stretch proved challenging on the court and never resulted in another Western Conference Finals appearance, it’s fun to think back on the excitement of adding one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time.
Pippen’s time in Portland didn’t go to waste. That much is apparent all these years later.
22. Rod Strickland, PG
Years: 1992-1996; 2000-01
Games Played: 312
PPG: 16.2
RPG: 4.3
APG: 8.2
SPG: 1.6
HI RK: 13
LO RK: 30
Few Trail Blazers graced the Rose Garden floor with as big a bag of tricks as Rod Strickland.
Even fewer, frankly, did a better job hiding those tricks.
During his Blazers stretch between 1992 and 1996, Strickland made plays. That’s just what he did. But as a non-three-point shooter, he rarely created for himself, and he remained unimposing to defense, somehow, some way.
Mostly, Strickland passed the heck out of the ball, which fit for the era when his teammates were Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Uncle Cliffy … you know the guys.
Simply put: Strickland found his teammates when he shouldn’t have been able to.
Dave Deckard of Blazer’s Edge might have put it perfectly in his own 100 Trail Blazers Of All-Time Ranking:
“Like General Douglas MacArthur in World War II, Rod Strickland made a career out of hitting ‘em where they ain’t.
“He did it better than anyone else around him.”
21. Lionel Hollins, PG
Years: 1975-1980
Games Played: 315
PPG: 13.9
RPG: 2.6
APG: 4.4
SPG: 1.9
HI RK: 13
LO RK: 30
Lionel Hollins checks in at No. 21 behind only a handful of guards in our rankings.
In fact, Hollins comes in exactly one spot behind another fan-fave point guard. But more on that later.
During his time in Portland, Hollins was a defensive stalwart who managed to do a little bit of everything on both ends of the court.
Hollins was also a member of the Blazers’ one and only title team in 1977, something that has played a pretty big role in our voting so far.
