Portland Trail Blazers wear headbands against Lakers to honor Cliff Robinson who died Saturday
The entire Portland
Trail Blazers team wore headbands Saturday during Game 5 of their playoff
series against the Los Angeles Lakers to honor Cliff Robinson, who died
Saturday from lymphoma at the age of 53.
The former Blazers
great played 18 seasons in the NBA with eight spent in Portland where the
6-foot-10 forward out of Connecticut became know as “Uncle Cliffy” and for
wearing a headband.
Blazers guard CJ
McCollum said video coordinator Jonathan Yim reached out to him with the idea
to honor Robinson by wearing headbands. McCollum said it was a no-brainer idea
to him but two details had to be worked out. First, was there enough inventory?
“I followed up just to
make sure we had enough black headbands first and foremost,” McCollum said.
No problem there. Then,
would the entire team be onboard with the idea while facing elimination down
3-1 to the Lakers?
“With the type of guys
that we have, it was an easy decision,” McCollum said.
The Blazers did lose
131-122. But they fought valiantly given that they were without Damian Lillard.
One Blazers player
that wouldn’t have needed convincing either way is Carmelo Anthony. The 10-time
All-Star entered the league in 2003 when Robinson was near the end of his
career.
Portland Trail
Blazers' CJ McCollum, left, drives against Los Angeles Lakers' Kentavious
Caldwell-Pope, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball first round
playoff game Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP
Photo/Ashley Landis) APAP
Anthony, 36, has worn
a headband his entire career. He remembers watching Robinson at the height of
his powers with the Blazers. Anthony was nine when Robinson was named to the
All-Star team in 1994.
What Anthony remembers
most is Robinson’s head gear.
“Wearing the headband
was somethnig that I was always intrigued by,” Anthony said. “He was a guy that
set that stone from that standpoint.”
McCollum also had some
headband experience. He wore one while playing at GlenOak High School in
Canton, Ohio. Wrapping one around his head once again seemed natural for
McCollum.
“I was glad to be able
to rock it,” McCollum said.
McCollum said he’d
never met Robinson but had heard stories about his impact on the Portland
franchise, how well he treated fans and how he was regarded in the Portland
community.
“He will never be
forgotten for what he brought to the game, his approach to the game and what he
brought to the city of Portland and the Portland organization,” McCollum said.
Trail Blazers coach
Terry Stotts said he thought the tribute was a fitting one.
“I debated about
wearing one myself but I didn’t know if I could pull that off or not,” Stotts
said. “I thought it was a great tribute. I was proud of our guys to do that.”
-- Aaron Fentress |
afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress
(Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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-- Aaron Fentress |
afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress
(Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
Subscribe to
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