The Portland Trail Blazers’ history is built on stars, but some of the franchise’s most important work came from the second round. Over the years, a pair of late picks turned into core pieces for teams that reached the NBA Finals, and both left a lasting mark on Portland basketball.
Jerome Kersey is the standard-bearer. Taken 46th overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, he needed a little time to settle in, but once he did, he became a fixture in Rip City. Kersey spent 11 seasons with the Blazers and finished with more games played in NBA history than all but two players in franchise history.
His value showed up when Portland climbed into contention during the 1980s. By 1990, the Blazers had become a title threat, and Kersey was in the starting lineup for the run to the 1990 and 1992 Finals. He was never the headliner, but his fit alongside Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter helped make those teams go.
Kersey remained with Portland through 1995 before being left unprotected in the expansion draft. Toronto selected him, then waived him before the season started.
From there, he moved around the league, spending time with the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle SuperSonics, San Antonio Spurs, and Milwaukee Bucks before retiring in 2009. He was also part of the Spurs’ championship team in 1999, a title Portland fans had reason to celebrate.
Kersey died in 2015 at age 52 after suffering a pulmonary embolism.
The other name on that short list is Danny Ainge’s? No - it’s Clifford Robinson.
Portland made him the 36th overall pick in 1989, and he carved out a role immediately. Robinson joined Kersey on the Blazers teams that reached the Finals in 1990 and 1992, then broke out in a big way in 1993, when he won Sixth Man of the Year after putting up 19.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
The next season, Robinson moved into the starting five and earned the only All-Star nod of his career. His durability became one of his defining traits, too.
From 1989 to 1995, he played in every game for Portland, running his consecutive-games streak to 461 straight appearances. That remains the franchise record.
Robinson stayed with the Blazers until 1997, when he left in free agency for the Phoenix Suns. He spent four seasons in Phoenix, then was traded to the Detroit Pistons in 2001.
Two years later he went to the Warriors, and in 2005 he was dealt to the New Jersey Nets. Robinson retired in 2007 after appearing in 1,380 games, the seventh-most in NBA history.
He died of lymphoma in 2020 at age 53.
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