Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

• Played four seasons with Trail Blazers (2000-04)
• Averaged 7.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game

Dale Davis turned in a 17-year career as an extremely solid post defender. He played at the right time, of course: the 1990s and early 2000s, in an era where 7-footers who could defend in the post and score just a little bit under the basket were always needed.

Davis played the first 10 years of his career with the Indiana Pacers, which he capped off by appearing in his first and only All-Star Game in 2000, his last year in Indianapolis. He was then traded to Portland as part of the move that brought Jermaine O’Neal to the Pacers.

Davis was acquired in part to help deal with the beast that was Shaquille O’Neal, as the Los Angeles Lakers had edged the Trail Blazers in seven games that spring. The Blazers were clearly looking for more big bodies to throw at Shaq in the paint.

While Arvydas Sabonis was still on the roster and playing well overall, he wasn’t exactly the ideal down low matchup for O’Neal, and certainly not for 40+ minutes a game.

The new acquisition stepped right in for a team that had won 59 games and played until Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Davis played well, averaging 7.2 pionts and 7.5 rebounds per game in 81 games.

The team was swept in the first round by the Lakers, however, and Los Angeles continued their romp through the Western Conference en route to their second of three consecutive NBA titles.

Davis played a total of four years in Portland before splitting the 2004-05 season between the Golden State Warriors, Indiana and finishing his career with two years on the Detroit Pistons.