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Portland Trail Blazers: Celebrating Rasheed Wallace’s 46th Birthday

By Ruben Estrada

SALT LAKE CITY, UNITED STATES: Rasheed Wallace (C) of the Portland Trail Blazers is congratulated by teammates Scottie Pippen (R) and Detlef Schrempt (L) following the Trail Blazers victory against the Utah Jazz during Game Three of the NBA Western Conference semi-finals in Salt Lake City, UT, 11 May, 2000. Portland defeated Utah 103-84 to take a 3-0 lead. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO MIKE NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UNITED STATES: Rasheed Wallace (C) of the Portland Trail Blazers is congratulated by teammates Scottie Pippen (R) and Detlef Schrempt (L) following the Trail Blazers victory against the Utah Jazz during Game Three of the NBA Western Conference semi-finals in Salt Lake City, UT, 11 May, 2000. Portland defeated Utah 103-84 to take a 3-0 lead. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO MIKE NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
Rasheed Wallace, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images) /

Top Tier Offense

Long before another Blazer forward had developed a signature fadeaway, Wallace was dominating with ahead of his time shooting skills. During his seven and a half seasons in Portland, Wallace was arguably the team’s best player, with the aging Arvydas Sabonis and Scottie Pippen past their prime.

Part of what made these Blazers so fun to watch was their generosity and team play on the court, potentially a reason for Wallace never averaging more than 20 PPG in his career. Still, Wallace could take over when needed. With his size, above-average three-point shooting, and a seemingly effortless turn around jumper, very few players could successfully defend Wallace’s complete game.

Most big men weren’t quick enough to make it out to the perimeter, and the ones that could rarely stand a chance against Wallace in the paint. And even if they could do that, the Rip City big man had the strength and footwork to execute in the paint against double, even sometimes triple teams.

For a crash course on his offensive ability, look no further than his career-high 42 point game, where he eviscerated Denver’s defense from just about every spot on the floor. For a player of his size, Wallace had almost no points of weakness in his offensive game.

Since his time in Portland, the Blazers have yet to come across a big man with similar talents. Sure, LaMarcus Aldridge has the mid-range shooting, but toughness and intensity have consistently been a problem. Although slightly taller, Nurkić embodies much of Wallace’s personality and power in the paint, but at least at this point in his career, lacks sharpshooting skills.

At this point in his life, Wallace has yet to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame, and there’s sadly a chance he never will. If he is one day to earn the esteemed honor, it will mainly be due to his endless offensive abilities.