A Plea to Blazers Management On Behalf of Mr. Porter

There has been quite a clamoring on BlazersEdge to have Terry Porter’s number retired. I, too, firmly believe that he is definitely worthy of having his number hanging from the rafters in the Rose Garden. While I know Ben and Dave, along with some others, have brought this subject up before, I just thought I’d put a give everyone a little bit different look at it. To prove that, I’m going to give you Porter’s career numbers as a Blazer, as well as any honors he received while with Portland, and compare those to some of the other players whose jersey numbers are retired. Hopefully, by the end, those of you still unsure whether or not Porter is deserving, will have changed your mind. Also, let’s remember I’m not saying the players I’m comparing Porter to don’t deserve to have their numbers retired. I’m just giving you the facts! J

We’ll start off with a statistical comparison first:

Terry Porter (1985-1995) - 758 games, 31.6 minutes/game, 14.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 47.1 FG%

Lloyd Neal (1972-1979) – 435 games, 25.3 minutes, 11.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 48.5 FG%

Lionel Hollins (1975-1979) – 315 games, 29.3 minutes, 13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.9 steals, 43.5 FG%

Larry Steele (1971-1980) - 610 games, 24.2 minutes, 8.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 48.3 FG%

For my money, Porter had the best career in both longevity (played more games in a Blazers uniform than both Lloyd Neal and Lionel Hollins combined) and statistics (leader out of those four players in points and assists, while finishing second in both steals and rebounds).

Next, let’s look at some of their career accomplishments as Blazers:

Terry Porter - 2-time All-Star (1991, 1993), Two NBA Finals appearances (1990, 1992), Recipient of Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award (1993)

Lloyd Neal - 1st Team All-Rookie (1973), NBA Champion (1977)

Lionel Hollins - 1st Team All-Rookie (1976), All-Star (1977), 2-

Time All-NBA Defensive Team (1977, 1978), NBA Champion (1977)

Larry Steele – League Leader in Steals (‘73-‘74 Season), NBA Champion (1977)

The big claim here for Neal, Hollins, and Steele is that they all were on the Blazers 1977 NBA Championship team, while Terry Porter never won a title. However, Porter had more All-Star appearances (two) than did the other three combined (one, by Lionel Hollins). Porter also received the Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award. I believe that is just as important as any of the other statistics or awards that I’ve been comparing.

Porter was a shining example of positive leadership, both on and off of the court, and though he never won a title, definitely has as much right as some of the other former Blazers players to have his number hanging in the rafters! Kevin Pritchard, Paul Allen, Larry Miller… We Blazers fans are asking you politely…Do the right thing, and hang Terry Porter’s number from the rafters!