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Blazers Top 100: The King of Instagram Makes Number 96

A look at the 100 players and personnel that have influenced the Trail Blazers’ 50-year history.

By Dave Deckard
Portland Trail Blazers v Minnesota Timberwolves Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

The Trail Blazers’ 50-year anniversary season is temporarily on pause as the NBA goes on hiatus to slow the spread of COVID-19. During that break, Blazer’s Edge is counting down the top 100 Blazers: players, executives, and other influencers who made the franchise what it is today.

No. 96 | Evan Turner

Games Played with Blazers: 217 Regular Season | 23 Postseason

*PTS: 8.0 | REB: 3.8 | AST: 3.0 | FG%: 44.3

*Statistics are pulled from a player’s time in Portland

Joined Club: July 2016, free agent

Departed Club: June 2019, Traded for Kent Bazemore

Place in History: Evan Turner will forever be pegged, and plagued, as the “big signing” of the infamous free agent class of 2016 in Portland. Like kids anticipating an Alienware desktop with the latest graphics card, Blazers fans awaited that summer and its millions in cap space with huge anticipation. Turner was more like a Commodore 64. But hey, that’s a more-than-serviceable machine, now remembered with fond nostalgia, as Turner should be. His stats weren’t overwhelming, but Turner brought a steady hand to Portland’s bench, an able starter at need, and when he was clicking, the Blazers were hard to stop. In his peak year, 2017-18, the Blazers went 15-5 when he scored 12 or more. His production fell off in the playoffs, but his passable defense (in an era where that was rare) and overall savvy helped the Blazers get there in the first place.

But this list doesn’t just take into account on-court accomplishments. Turner deserves his own Hall-of-Fame for his work on Instagram and social media.

Who can forget the time a truck driver crashed into his swimming pool?

Or the absolute outrage over the price of Egg McMuffins?

Turner’s Instagram feed is a treasure trove of humor, horror, and indignation. For that alone he deserves a spot on the list of all-time Blazers players and influencers.

Discuss your favorite memories or stories about ET below, and check back multiple times every weekday as we continue to countdown to No. 1.

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