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Portland Trail Blazers fan favorite tournament: Round of 16

By Austin Carroll

INDIANAPOLIS - FEBRUARY 16: Damon Stoudamire #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers stands on the court during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse on February 16, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 95-87. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS - FEBRUARY 16: Damon Stoudamire #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers stands on the court during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse on February 16, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 95-87. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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If you’ve been following along on Twitter, congratulations. If not, join us in crowning the official fan favorite player in Portland Trail Blazers history.

Every franchise has beloved players that never attained star status. Although the national media may not spout headlines about them, these players never go unnoticed when they’re on their home court. The Portland Trail Blazers are no exception here.

We dug through recent history in hopes of finding the biggest fan favorite of them all. But that’s an impossible task for just one person. So we went the only route that made the most sense — let the people decide.

Through Twitter, hundreds of votes were cast in the preliminary round to determine who is the true fan favorite of Blazers history. Staying true to the premise of this exercise, we only included non-star players. The stipulations to be included in this exercise were:

  1. Never have been an All-Star (with the Blazers)
  2. Never led the team in points scored
  3. Never led the team in minutes played

Simple enough, right? Let’s get right into it. Here are the match-ups Round One had in store for us (all match-ups were randomly generated to prevent bias).

Stoudamire vs. Turner — Miller vs. Batum

Though he last played in a Portland Trail Blazers uniform 15 years ago, Damon Stoudamire left strong enough of an impression to remind fans why “Mighty Mouse” is one of the best to do it this century. Meanwhile, the French phenom Nic Batum dominated a preliminary round match-up against one of the most respected veterans of the 2000’s.

Przybilla vs. Webster — Leonard vs. Wells

“The Vanilla Gorilla” Joel Przybilla wasted no time laying waste to his opponent and proving he’s still the owner of the best nickname in Blazers history. Meyers Leonard on the other hand wasn’t as lucky, coming just a few votes short to Bonzi Wells in the most highly contested first-round battle.

Lopez vs. Miles — Wallace vs. Outlaw

Robin Lopez‘s goofy and lovable personality is sure to pay dividends in this competition, as he absolutely blows the competition away by receiving 80 percent of all votes in this round. Despite a short tenure in Portland, Gerald Wallace seemed to make the most of his time and endear himself by playing an electric brand of basketball.

Aminu vs. Matthews — Davis vs. Blake

For the final pair of match-ups in the first-round, Wesley Matthews gave us quite a spectacle and blew Al-Farouq Aminu out for the largest margin of victory in any of the polls thus far. Ed Davis also shared a back-and-forth battle against Steve Blake but ultimately reigned supreme and moved on to the next round.

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And that wraps it up for now! The second-round is currently taking place now, if you’d like to view the updated bracket or perhaps vote yourself, just click here and join in on the festivities. Only you can decide who the true fan favorite is.