Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By Ben Beecken
- Played 5 seasons with the Trail Blazers (1992-96, 2001)
- Averaged 16.2 points and 8.2 assists per game
Rod Strickland was the No. 19 pick by the New York Knicks in 1988 and played parts of two seasons in the Big Apple before suiting up for the San Antonio Spurs for two-plus seasons. He was largely a solid backup although he began starting towards the end of his time in San Antonio.
But it was in Portland when “Hot Rod” broke out.
Strickland started nearly half of the Trail Blazers games in 1992-93, averaging 13.7 points and 7.2 assists per game. Then in 1993-94, Strickland appeared in all 82 games, starting 58 and putting up 17.2 points and nine assists per contest.
The first two years of Strickland in Portland were the final two years of Rick Adelman’s coaching stint with the Trail Blazers. However, both squads were solid teams that ultimately lost in the first round. Then in 1994-95, P.J. Carlesimo took over and the Trail Blazers won 44 games for two consecutive years, losing in the first round both times.
Strickland continued his trend upwards, ultimately scoring over 18 points per game in both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 campaigns before being shipped to the then Washington Bullets as part of the trade that brought Rasheed Wallace to the Pacific Northwest.
Strickland played four-plus seasons with the Bullets/Wizards before winding his career down with a whirlwind that included Portland (again), the Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Orlando Magic, the Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets.
His second tour of Portland lasted just 21 games late in the 2000-01 season. Strickland only played 16.7 minutes per game and was a modest contributor to a 50-win team that was swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.