The Look Up

   

I don’t know why but I’m having the same wretched feeling in my gut about Brandon Roy’s retirement as I had when I heard of Heath Ledger’s death. Maybe it’s because I feel like our generation is about to lose on years of what would’ve been a superstar’s prime. A basketball player so skilled and intelligent, with the love of a die-hard basketball city and a potential with no ceiling, had been riddled away by the curse that is his degenerative knees. 

I’ve been a basketball fan for about 12 years now, and I must say, this is one of the biggest non-death related basketball tragedies of my career as a fan. Coming from Toronto, I was 9 when Vince Carter was drafted. But it was not until my high school years that I really started following basketball religiously. I grew up in the generation of the Highlight, the post-Michael era of slashers and fade-aways. I grew up with Lebron James, with Dwyane Wade, with Dirk Nowitzki, with Kevin Garnett. There are no athletes in the world that I know more about and appreciate more than this generation of basketball superstars.

There’s a certain feeling you get when you watch your favourite basketball players play the game. It’s that gut feeling that you get after your player completely takes over, when they defy the principals of gravity for the all-or-nothing dunk, when they make opposing defences look like a lay-up line, when they get sandwiched between two 7-footers and still finds a way for the basket. It’s that feeling when they convince you that they are capable of anything. The invincibility factor. Vince made me feel this way, Lebron makes me feel this way, and some time in my freshman year of college, while my roommates and I hovered around a small television set in our common area, did I get a sliver of this feeling from the rookie Brandon Roy. There was something about his game - his lightning quick first step, his ability to sway around the defender without a crack in his dribble, his body control around the rim - that made me feel that like he was going to be something special. Brandon Roy had everything. The future was as bright as the sun. With a Rookie of the Year award, a supporting cast of young promising players, an impressive 4th seed in 08-09, everything was looking good for Brandon Roy. Until his knees gave out. 

I really do think that the NBA has lost out on a potential superstar, someone that could’ve helped define this generation. I really do think that, had Brandon Roy been healthy, he would have been a top 10 player in the league and a top 3 shooting guard. I really do think Brandon Roy was one of, if not the, most clutches players in the world. I really do think that you can win a championship with Brandon Roy as your best player. One of my good friends and I once had a conversation about how either of us would give our knees to Brandon Roy if we could. And I guess until that technology is available, Brandon Roy will still be retired. But instead of mourning the loss of a great basketball player, I will appreciate the career that he has had already. I will appreciate the fact that I was able to watch Brandon Roy play. I will appreciate his tenacity, his strong will, and his leadership. Here are two of my favourite Brandon Roy performances over the years. You will be missed BRoy.

First - Brandon Roy torches Carmelo Anthony and co on Christmas Day two years ago. With the score tied down to the wire, Roy leads the Blazer in the fourth quarter for the win. How Brandon Roy of him.

Second - The famous back-to-back-to-back buzzer beaters, Brandon Roy teaches us the true definition of clutch.