Like many other Portland Trail Blazers fans, my love for the team and game of basketball isn’t just of the television-watching variety. My fandom has inspired and dovetailed with my own hoop dreams. In CYO and AAU games, through high school PIL play and eventually, the adult rec leagues I find myself in today, my Blazers heroes have subtly influenced my basketball career every step of the way.
I assume I’m not the only one who’s watched a Blazers game and then tried to emulate a move I saw from my favorite player in the driveway.