Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

• Played seven seasons with Trail Blazers (1975-82)
• Averaged 9.2 points and 4.5 points per game
• 1x NBA champion for Trail Blazers

Bob Gross joined the Trail Blazers via the second round in 1975 — just the sixth season of the franchise’s existence. He joined a club that had yet to make the playoffs, but by his second year, things had changed in a hurry.

The Trail Blazers had improved their record to 38-44 the year prior to Gross’ addition, and they won 37 games with Gross as a rookie. Gross himself was a fringe rotation player, scoring 6.8 points in 19.4 minutes per game.

In 1976-77 however, Gross was on the court for 27.2 minutes per game and played in all 82 games. He also increased his scoring dramatically, averaging 11.4 points per game and chipping in with 4.8 rebounds per contest.

The Trail Blazers were led by Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins, but Gross was an important cog in the machine as the fourth-leading scorer and the forward that slotted in between Hollins and Lucas on the wing.

Gross continued his strong play into the next season, averaging a career-high in points and rebounds at 12.7 and 5.6 per game, respectively. However, Walton only played in 58 games and the team stumbled to a first-round loss to the then Seattle SuperSonics in six games.

Gross played four more seasons in Portland as a regular starter, although the team only made the playoffs one more time, getting swept again in 1981. He headed down the coast to wrap up his career with a single season with the then San Diego Clippers before retiring.