- Played eight seasons with Trail Blazers (1998-2005)
- Averaged 12.8 points and 5.7 assists per game
Damon Stoudamire was a 5-foot-10, left-handed point guard more affectionately known as “Mighty Mouse”.
Stoudamire came to Portland after an ultra-productive two-plus seasons with the Toronto Raptors, where he won the 1995-96 NBA Rookie of the Year award after averaging 19 points and 9.3 assists per game as a rookie. His 200 games in Toronto yielded impressive numbers: 19.8 points and 8.8 assists per game, although it came with a shooting percentage of just 41.5 percent.
“Mighty Mouse” was traded as part of a huge deal that sent three draft picks, including two first-rounders, from Portland to Toronto. Stoudamire came to Portland to join a team with sky-high expectations.
After the midseason trade, the Trail Blazers finished with 50 wins, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs. The 1998-99 campaign was cut to just 50 games due to the lockout, but the Blazers went 35-15 and went all the way the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs.
Stoudamire’s role shifted to that of a pass-first point guard in coach Mike Dunleavy’s offense. After scoring in bunches with the Raptors, Stoudamire never averaged more than 13.5 points per game over the course of a season with the Trail Blazers.
That said, he was a productive player and turned into a solid 3-point shooter, knocking down 35.9 percent of threes and hitting on 38.6 percent during the 2002-03 campaign.
Stoudamire spent the bulk of his career in Portland before heading to the Memphis Grizzlies for two-plus years and finishing up his playing career with 31 games in a Spurs uniform.