Brandon Roy

Brandon Dawayne Roy (born July 23, 1984) is an American basketball coach and former player.

He serves as the head coach of the boys' basketball team at Garfield High School in Seattle.

Roy played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

He became the fourth Trail Blazer to be selected for the rookie squad of the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge since its inception in 1994.

He was the first Trail Blazer to participate in the All-Star Weekend since Rasheed Wallace's selection as an All-Star reserve in 2001.

He was an early-entry candidate for the 2002 NBA draft straight out of high school, but he withdrew his name after consideration.

Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Roy was listed as the No. 6 shooting guard and the No. 36 player in the nation in 2002.

Roy faced challenges before entering college.

His parents and his older brother had not attended college, and due to a learning disability, Roy had difficulty with the SAT; his reading comprehension was slow, which increased the time he needed for tests.

He had taken the test four times (with tutors) before finally meeting the NCAA requirements.

Unsure whether he would be able to attend a four-year college, Roy worked on the Seattle docks, cleaning shipping containers for $11 per hour.

In 2002, Roy started to play for the University of Washington (UW).

He remained there for four years under head coach Lorenzo Romar.

He majored in American Ethnic Studies.

After his junior year, Roy considered entering the draft, but changed his mind when he learned that teammate Nate Robinson and high school senior and UW signee Martell Webster intended to enter the draft.

He saw an opportunity to rise in the ranks on his college team, and improve his draft position.

On December 29, 2005, Roy led the Huskies to victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils with a college career-high 35 points and became the 31st Washington player to score 1,000 points in a career.

The following game he equalled his career high of 35 points in a double overtime loss to the Arizona Wildcats.

During his senior year, Roy averaged 20.2 points per game while leading the Huskies to a 26–7 season and a second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Roy was named Pac-10 player of the year and received All-American honors at the end of the season, while also being a finalist for the Wooden, Naismith, Oscar Robertson, and Adolph Rupp awards.

He was selected sixth in the 2006 NBA draft, having completed four years playing for the Washington Huskies.

His nickname was "B-Roy", but he was also referred to as "the Natural" by Trail Blazers announcer Brian Wheeler.

Zach Randolph, then the team captain, was traded to the New York Knicks at the end of Roy's first season in 2006–07 season, which cleared the way for Roy to take on a leadership role on the team.

That season, Roy won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in a near-unanimous vote.

Roy had a 2006 pre-draft workout with the Trail Blazers prior to being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the sixth overall pick.

However, he was immediately traded to the Trail Blazers for the draft rights of Randy Foye.

An impingement in his left heel kept him out of 20 games early in the season, but he scored his first career double-double shortly after his return, on December 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors.

After averaging 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game during the 2006–07 NBA season, Roy was named NBA Rookie of the Year.

He received 127 out of 128 first-place votes.

At the end of January 2007, Roy led all NBA rookies with 14.5 points per game.

He was the Western Conference's Rookie of the Month in January, February, and March 2007.

He was named to two All-NBA teams and as a reserve to the 2008, 2009, and 2010 All-Star Games.

Roy attended the African-American Academy elementary school.

He first started taking basketball seriously while playing for the Amateur Athletic Union, one of the largest sports organizations in the United States.

He attended Garfield High School in Seattle, and was considered one of the state's best high school players.

On January 22, 2009, before a University of Washington Huskies home game versus the USC Trojans, his number 3 uniform was retired.

Roy's NBA debut was in his hometown against the Seattle SuperSonics.

He scored 20 points in that game, and 19 in the following game.

On December 10, 2011, Roy announced his retirement from basketball due to a degenerative knee condition, though he returned in 2012 to play five games for the Timberwolves.

Born in Seattle, Roy became known for his immediate impact on the Trail Blazers.