Blazers Great Deserves to Be in Hall of Fame

The Portland Trail Blazers could see one of their former players go to Springfield for basketball immortality.

Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Buck Williams against the Phoenix Suns. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Portland Trail Blazers fans should be excited after the league announced its finalists for being at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Former Blazers forward and coach Buck Williams is one of 11 nominees for this year's enshrinement. Williams played with the Blazers from 1989-96 and was part of the team's trips to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. The Oregonian's Joe Freeman wrote about Williams and why he should be considered for the Hall of Fame this year.

"The Blazers acquired him in a trade with the New Jersey Nets before the 1989 season and they immediately flourished, winning 59 games in the regular season and reaching the NBA finals for the first time since the 1977 championship season. Portland went on play in the Western Conference Finals the following season and the NBA finals one season after that, achieving the greatest and most sustained run of success in franchise history," Freeman wrote.

"Williams proved to be the missing link, arriving just as the Blazers’ core — Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, and Kevin Duckworth — was coming into its own. His infectious and unselfish playing style, which featured tenacious defense, relentless rebounding and an old-school toughness, proved to be perfect for a team that had been desperate for all three."

Former Portland Trail Blazers Buck Williams talks to a reporter before a game. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Buck Williams Closer to Hall of Fame

William spent seven years with the Blazers and made the playoffs in each season he was with the team. On top of that, he was a three-time All-Star with the New Jersey Nets in 1982, 1983, and 1986. The number three overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft had a 17-year career in the league and is one of the more consistent performers in the 80s and 90s.

After his retirement in 1998, Williams became an assistant coach under Nate McMillan when he was with the Blazers. He was only a coach for a brief time, but the Blazers organization was thankful to have him around again.

Whether or not Williams is inducted into the Hall of Fame, Blazers fans are grateful for his contributions to the organization, and he remains one of the more beloved players in franchise history.

Williams will learn whether or not he has been inducted on Saturday, April 4, during March Madness's Final Four weekend. The induction ceremony is scheduled to take place in early September.