- Played 10 seasons with Trail Blazers (1985-95)
- Averaged 14.9 points and seven assists per game
- 2x All-Star with Trail Blazers
Let’s start with this: whether you believe it or not, Terry Porter‘s best two seasons in Portland rivaled Bill Walton’s All-Star campaigns with the Trail Blazers.
While part of the reason Porter lasted until No. 2 on this list is the combination of longevity and consistent production with the Trail Blazers, it would be foolish to overlook just how good Porter’s peak was in Portland.
Porter arrived as the No. 24 overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft and only played 15.4 minutes per game as a rookie. But he was a starter in year two and averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 assists per game. He wasn’t yet the sharpshooter that he turned into later on, but he was still an effective young player.
The 1988-89 season was Porter’s fourth in the league and head coach Mike Schuler’s last, as the team finished with just 39 wins. Porter had himself a nice season, however, averaging 17.7 points and 9.5 assists per game, while hitting on 36.1 percent of his 3-point attempts.
The next year, the Trail Blazers reached the NBA Finals on the strength of Clyde Drexler and Porter, with the latter scoring 17.6 points and pitching in 9.1 assists per gam. He improved his 3-point shooting again, making 37.4 percent of long-balls while launching three per game — a lot back at the start of the 1990s.
Porter averaged north of 18 points per game each of the next two seasons, as the Blazers continued to be contenders. They reached one more NBA Finals, but lost to Michael Jordan and the up-and-coming Chicago Bulls dynasty.
Porter wrapped up his time in Portland in 1994-95 as a 31-year-old backup before heading to the Minnesota Timberwolves for three years as a situational sharpshooter off the bench. (Believe it or not, Porter also earned a spot on the Timberwolves top-30 players list.) Porter then spent a year with the Miami Heat and three with the San Antonio Spurs before calling it quits at the age of 38 after the 2001-02 season.