Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By Ben Beecken
- Five seasons with Trail Blazers (2013-present)
- Averaging 17.2 points and 2.9 assists per game
- Shooting 40.8 percent on 3-point attempts
CJ McCollum has only played five years in the league, and his first two were absolutely nothing to write home about. Yet he still made it on to our list — even if it was only barely.
McCollum was the No. 10 pick of the 2013 NBA Draft as an undersized shooting guard out of a small school in Lehigh University. He didn’t play much as a rookie, appearing in just 38 games, and only played in 62 games with three starts in his second NBA season. However, he showed promise over those two years, knocking down threes at a 38.8 percent clip.
Year three was when McCollum made his move. He became a full-time starter and put up 20.8 points per game, while hitting on 41.7 percent of 3-pointers. The next year he became more efficient, bumping up his overall field goal percentage and getting to the free throw line with more regularity.
McCollum’s first year as a starter was the best season that the Blazers as a team have had in recent years. While they only won 44 regular season games under head coach Terry Stotts, the 2015-16 Trail Blazers upset the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in six games. Portland made it to the second round before losing in five games to the eventual Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors.
McCollum will only be 27 years old heading into the 2018-19 campaign. The sky is the limit for the potent shooting guard. If he stays in Portland a while longer, he’ll rise further up this list in short order.