Captain Terry

Terry Porter lived around the block from my Tualatin abode. My friend and I journeyed there once on foot, knocked on his door and asked for his autograph.

My friend being very wise and patient kept his ball and signature safe and intact. Meanwhile, since I’m an idiot, my brother and I played with our ball until the signature was worn off, the ball went flat and we lost it. True story.

TP was a warrior, truly many of my favorite PTB moments involve TP…. from like 8 straight 3’s against Golden State, or the miracle 3 point loft against Seattle, to his dogged tenacious and ferocious D against Stockton and the Jazz in all those playoffs, TP was central. Clyde Drexler stole all the thunder, but TP was the Tesla coil that ignited that team. I say team, because Terry was the consummate teammate as well.

I laughingly remember when that whole Salt Lake City young girls fiasco erupted, TP was the first guy to say “NOT ME!!” Anyone who has followed the PTB knows TP WAS the man.

To get his number retired? It makes no sense.

ESPECIALLY when anyone who even listened to the ‘77 team on the radio has had their number retired. I ain’t heard of all ‘dose guys ‘cept Mr. Mo Lucas and that Big Dumb Red Guy Walton, but they all have their numbers retired. It’s a crime that Terry Porter hadn’t had it done yet, especially after the whoever-he-was got his retired in the 06-07 season.

I know I should be more reverential towards the Championship team, but nothing is more small time than retiring everyone’s number off of that roster. We’ve had other teams that deserve some recognition…

And besides the obvious Stars, no one deserves it more than Terry Porter. Use ANY criteria: numbers, fan adulation, leadership, big moments, dedication to the team, whateva’ yo! TP-30 is #1 in my heart and I think of his keloid scarring on his arm whenever I need to perform in manly ways.

Mortimer

not everyplayer or fan of that team was retired. Why you refer to Bill Walton as you do, as many do, continues to baffle me. Did you watch Walton play ever? He was awsome. He was arguably one of the most prolific collegiate players of all time. During the championship run, Walton led the PTB thru the Western Conference and crushed (I MEAN CRUSHED) the Kareem led L*kers in 4 straight. If it wasnt for Walton, the PTB would have one less championship and fewer players retired. Walton almost seems despised now. When he came out of college, he was shy and extremely soft spoken and riddled with the embarressment of a noticable lisp. Bill was courageous enough to conquer that, however in doing so, let his mouth try to catch up with all the thoughts he previously held in check, and to this day Bill probaly is still excavating radical ideologies mixed with todays political correctness that really only serves to earn fan ire.

The only numbers retired have been worn by guys who made significant contributions to the team. I dont see anything wrong with retiring the #s of guys who earned it, and those #s just arent that watered down.

TP has earned the right to have his # hung in pride. That is not stretching the truth. Terry Porter is EVERYTHING we could have asked for in a Portland Trail Blazer and <______ > that much more.
Case closed. Retire TP’s #.

He was talking about how great an LA-Boston finals would be because of the old rivalry, and I told him I didn’t think it was a big deal. The first NBA game I ever watched was a Jazz game at my cousin’s house in the early 1990’s in Salt Lake City, and I didn’t watch another game until the last game of the 1996-97 NBA Finals.

I’ve never watched a single Blazer’s game before then. The only Blazers highlights I recall, from before I started watching the NBA, are always of other teams torching the Blazers. Same with Larry Bird, he’s just a guy in commercials with Michael Jordan. There is really no point in me sharing this. I’m all for retiring Porter’s number, it’s just amazing to me that I’ve been a Blazers fan for about 10 years and I know more about Porter as a coach than as a player.

I started mimicking TP’s free throw routine almost as soon as he joined the Blazers and it’s something that has stuck with me to this day…

when Bob Gross’ and Larry Steele’s numbers were retired, because it did seem, as Mortimer wrote, so small-time of Portland and the Blazers. I suspected the Blazers saw that lonely championship banner hanging from the rafters and thought a few player jerseys up there with it would put them in the same league as Boston and Los Angeles. I’m still embarrassed by it.

There is only one Blazer whose jersey should be hanging from the rafters: Clyde Drexler.

• He played with the team a long time (1983-95)
• His team made it to the finals.
• He was the best player on the team.
• He was a 10-time All-Star.
• He is one of the Top 50 players of all time.
• He is in the NBA Hall of Fame.
• He was on the Dream Team.

The only thing missing from his Blazer resume is a championship, but he at least got one with Houston. No other Blazer past or present is in the same universe as Clyde. I can’t count Walton because he was a Blazer too few years.

Rather than retire TP’s number, I’d like to see the Blazers unretire every former player’s number except for Clyde’s.

My minimum criteria for a team retiring a player’s number are:

• Must be with the team for at least seven years.
• Must be at least a three-time All-Star with the team.
• Must win a championship or make it to the championship game at least once with the team.

You could argue that a player of bad character, or who has a history of dissing fans or having problems staying out of the legal system, should never have his number retired. That’s a gray area that would have to be decided case-by-case, and there may be others.

TP misses out because he only made 2 Allstar Games not 3? BTW Walton should be up there because he is a HOF’er and best player on the championship team…regardless of how long he was on the team

It’s about how the rest of the league feels about him, too. TP was a fine player and person, but his name doesn’t come up in conversations about great point guards in NBA history. He averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 assists and 1.24 steals for his career—hardly impressive numbers.

Compare him to Mo Cheeks, whose number is also retired with Philly. He was a 4X All-Star, 4X All-Defensive First Team, three trips to the finals, one championship, 11.7 ppg, third all-time in steals, eighth all-time in assists.

Now you’re going to point out that the Sonics retired Nate’s number, and his stats and accomplishments were less than TP’s, though Nate also coached the Sonics. It’s another gray area.

Both Walton and TP are tough outs for me. I liked them both, especially Walton. To me, the retirement of a player’s number should be a rare and special honor and you need tough criteria to keep it that way. I just don’t feel right about giving that honor to someone who played as few years as Walton did.

I’m hoping that 20 years from now we’ll see at least three more jerseys at the Rose Garden. I hope we don’t see 12 more!