The Official Site of Brandon Roy

Tue, Nov 3rd 2009, 09:19

Brandon Roy 4.0

Now a little over three years into his NBA career, Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy is showing signs of evolving into the next unstoppable force in the league. He improved markedly in each of his first three seasons, leading the team to the playoffs in his third year, and this season he’s expected to lead the Blazers beyond a simple playoff appearance and in the direction of title contention. Four games into the new season he’s averaging 27 points, 4.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds, but his biggest improvement has more to do with the things that don’t show up in the box score.

“He’s definitely talking more, voicing his opinion more, and pointing out things that I think really need to be pointed out,” says LaMarcus Aldridge. “I think that’s what leaders on teams need to do. He recognizes that, and that’s what he’s starting to do. Everybody respects him because he does go out there and lead by example and works as hard as anyone, doing the things that’s asking us to do. He’s not one of those guys who talks about it but doesn’t do it. When someone works as hard as he does and then tells you what he wants, he deserved the utmost respect.”

“He’s absolutely becoming the vocal leader and we need him to be,” adds Steve Blake. “When your best player is vocal and you can see that he cares about what’s going on it definitely motivates your team and that’s what’s going to take us to the next level. He’s definitely giving us that leadership.”

Blazers head coach Nate McMillan has been fostering Roy’s ability and willingness to lead vocally for some time, and says he sees Roy finally growing into that role.

“I think it’s coming around now. Part of that is you getting comfortable with yourself and getting comfortable with your situation before you can start to lead other people. Kevin (Durant) is in his third year in the league and starting to feel a little more comfortable about himself and the league and what’s expected. You see guys like that mature. Brandon is doing that for us. ... Eventually it’s going to come down to the players and what they do out on the floor and what they’re about. To be successful you need that vocal leader out on the floor.”

“You know, in the past I’ve always been the kind of guy who just goes out and tries to lead by example,” explains Roy. “Now that I’ve been in the league a little bit longer and we have younger guys coming in, there’s more times where I need to be more vocal. Sometimes it’s getting on guys, but mostly I’m just trying to offer encouragement, let guys know how important they are to the team, and to help them keep improving. Being the vocal leader is definitely something I’m trying to get better at, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.”

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