The most famous curses have been the Boston Red Sox's 'Curse of the Bambino', the Chicago Cubs' 'Curse of the Billy Goat', and Philadelphia's 'Curse of Billy Penn'. But in Portland, Oregon, the Trail Blazers professional basketball team have a curse of their own, and that involves the center position, a rich tradition made famous by George Mikan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal. But the 'five' spot has been anything but great in Portland.
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The Blazers' first No. 1 overall pick was LaRue Martin in 1972. Martin got a first impression by the Blazers front office after outplaying future Blazer Bill Walton in an NCAA regular season game between UCLA and Loyola. However, Martin was anything but spectacular, averaging just 5.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg. After just four seasons Martin decided to retire, having been supplanted by Walton as the team's starting center.
Bill Walton, from UCLA, was drafted first overall by the Blazers in 1974. However his 13-year career was hampered by foot injuries that ultimately forced his retirement. Nevertheless he became one of the first 'point centers' in the league, as his ability to pass the ball became one of his strengths. His best seasons came during the years 1976-78, where he led the Blazers to the 1977 NBA title and was then named an All-Star and the league's MVP the next year. His Blazers tenure ended in a rather conspicuous manner, sitting out the 1978-79 season for unethical and incompetent treatment by the Blazers training staff. After six fruitless seasons with the Clippers, he finished his career as the Boston Celtics' sixth man, winning the 1986 NBA championship.
More well-known as the backup center on the Los Angeles Lakers' 1987 and 1988 championship teams, Mychal Thompson was the Blazers' top pick in the 1978 draft. He may have never fulfilled the expectations needed for a No. 1 pick, but Thompson played decently well on the Blazers teams that won a playoff series only twice in Thompson's eight seasons. Thompson averaged 16.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg and 3.4 apg in his Blazers tenure.
On a draft class that included future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, John Stockton and Charles Barkley, Sam Bowie was an exception. Drafted second overall in the 1984 draft, Bowie never got a chance to fulfill his potential. While he averaged 10.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 2.6 apg, he played in only 139 games in five seasons with Portland, limited by various leg injuries that eventually forced his retirement in 1995. To this day, Bowie was tagged as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history.
Steve Johnson arrived in Portland in the Mychal Thompson deal with the San Antonio Spurs in 1986. Johnson and Bowie were expected to form a 'Twin Towers' combination similar to Houston's Ralph Sampson and Olajuwon, but when Bowie injured his leg, Johnson stepped up at center and averaged nearly 17 ppg on 55% field goal shooting. He was named an NBA All-Star in 1988, but an injury denied him a trip to Chicago. Kevin Duckworth's emergence made Johnson expendable, and was eventually let go in 1989.
Kevin Duckworth played seven seasons in Portland from 1987-93, but his best years came during the years 1990-92, when the Blazers made the NBA Finals twice under Clyde Drexler. Duckworth was named an All-Star twice in 1989 and 1991, but questions about his conditioning eventually forced a trade with the Washington Bullets for Harvey Grant after the 1992-93 season. Duckworth would retire in 1997 and died 11 years later to a heart attack.
A case of 'too little, too late', Arvydas Sabonis arrived in Portland in 1995 at 31 and a few pounds heavier. He was drafted in the second round of the 1986 draft by the Blazers, but an Achilles injury and the ongoing Cold War delayed his entry to the NBA. In between the draft and his Blazers debut, Sabonis played in Europe, where he had his best professional seasons. During his seven seasons with the Trail Blazers, he was a shadow of his former self, but still averaged 12 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 2.1 apg and led the Blazers to the conference finals in 1999 and 2000. He was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 primarily for his international play.
Finally there was Greg Oden. Drafted first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden's career was marred by various knee injuries, and played only 82 games from 2008-10. He averaged 9.4 ppg and 7.3 rpg in those two seasons, but after a freak knee injury in a game against the Rockets in late 2009, Oden would miss the next two-plus seasons due to endless surgeries and rehab procedures. Finally on March 15, the Blazers decided to waive Oden as they rebuild for the future.
Now, when will the center position in Portland be free from all misfortunes? Who knows, maybe in another few or several years more we'll have the answer, as the Blazers rebuild, again.
