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The Trail Blazers have not had a player on the roster with a brother who was also in the NBA since Robin Lopez in 2015. With the addition of Seth Curry we once again have a family connection.
If you’ve got siblings, you probably know all about sibling rivalry. What if your sibling rivalry played out on the big stage, like it does for NBA players whose brothers are also in the league?
Here is a list of all Trail Blazers who have played against their brothers while wearing the red and black. For reference, I added the Player Efficiency Rating (PER) for each player so you can see at a glance who pencils out as “better”—at least by this metric. But of course, the most important thing is how did they fare when they were with the Blazers?
Blazer Players Who Went Head-to-Head Against Their Brothers
| NBA Debut | Blazer Player | PER | Brother | PER | Total Head-to-Head | As a Blazer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA Debut | Blazer Player | PER | Brother | PER | Total Head-to-Head | As a Blazer |
| 1976 | Calvin Natt | 17.9 | Kenny Natt | 7.3 | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| 1976 | Caldwell Jones | 12.1 | Charles Jones | 9.2 | 7-4 | 4-4 |
| 1980 | Jim Paxson | 16.1 | John Paxson | 12 | 12-12 | 8-5 |
| 1989 | Harvey Grant | 12.7 | Horace Grant | 16 | 9-19 | 0-3 |
| 2009 | Robin Lopez | 16.3 | Brook Lopez | 20.6 | 9-9 | 1-1 |
| 2014 | Seth Curry | 15 | Steph Curry | 23.8 | 0-6 | ?? |
| 2014 | Mason Plumlee | 17.8 | Miles Plumlee | 13.5 | 4-4 | 1-0 |
While Calvin Natt had a much higher PER than his brother Kenny, that wasn’t enough to lead the team to victory. Of the four Jones brothers who played in the league (Caldwell, Charles, Major and Wil), Caldwell was the only Blazer, and he split the games he played against Charles 4-4.
Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee have squared off eight times in total, the result again split right down the middle at 4 games apiece. They only met once while Mason was in Portland, a 107-95 victory for Portland. It was a forgettable performance for Mason who scored 3 points with 5 personal fouls in 20 minutes. Miles was slightly more productive with 8 points in 18 minutes.
Jim Paxson and John Paxson played against each other 24 times in total, 13 of them while Jim was a Blazer. Jim prevailed 8 times over John in these matchups recording his best performance against San Antonio Spurs (35 points on 60% shooting).
Harvey Grant and Horace Grant played against each other 28 times between 1988 and 1999. When they retired, Horace held a 19-9 advantage over his twin brother. The Blazers went 0-3 each time the two of them met while Harvey played for Portland. While Horace holds the win-loss advantage over his brother, Harvey has three sons who went on to play in the NBA, Jerami Grant, Jerian Grant, Jerai Grant. None of them have played for the Blazers yet, but it’s still early in their careers.
Over the years, Robin and Brook Lopez have played against each other 18 times in total. While Brook owns the scoring title, averaging 19.6 points per game to Robin’s 10.1, their win-loss record is split evenly at 9 wins a piece. They faced off twice while Robin was a Trail Blazer with each brother winning one.
How will things turn out when Seth faces Steph in a Blazers jersey? The two have met six times, with a 6-0 advantage to Steph. Steph averages 22.5 points in 31.5 minutes while Seth averages 7.8 points in 21.0 minutes. Seth’s best game was on Dec. 30, 2016 when he scored 11 points on 50% shooting while Steph was held to only 14 points on 41.7% shooting.
Is Seth vs. Steph too lopsided (or confusing, I mean, really, say that five times fast) to care about? What Blazers sibling rivalry was the most exciting? What other sets of siblings in the league have you enjoyed watching over the years? Let us know in the comments below!
Xoxo Team Mom | @tcbbiggs