He was listed at 5’10”, but was probably shorter yet even at such a small height for a professional basketball player he was an NBA starter for over a decade and was keeping up with the stars of the game when he first entered the league. But Damon Stoudamire was a star from the beginning as he led Woodrow Wilson high school to two state championships before teaming with guys like Sean Rooks, Chris Mills and Khalid Reeves at the university of Arizona to help lead the Wildcats to 4 straight tournament appearances including a trip to the Final Four in 1994. He was one of the top player’s in the NCAA by the end of his career as he would be named a Consensus First Team All-American as a senior.
He would then become the first draft pick in the history of the Toronto Raptors before Vince Carter or Chris Bosh; and he would go on to win NBA Rookie of the year and then follow it up with a sophomore season where he averaged over 20 points per game. He could have been part of something special in Toronto as they were building through the draft with guys like Marcus Camby and Tracy McGrady, but after general manager Isiah Thomas resigned it all fell apart, but he would get to go home and play for his local Portland Trailblazers where he would be the team’s starting point guard on some initially great team’s that would make the conference finals in back to back years featuring players like Rasheed Wallace, Arvydas Sabonis, Steve Smith and Scottie Pippen. But they wouldn’t be able to get over the hump and Stoudamire had a tendency to disappear come playoff time. The early 2000s would be the more infamous years of Portland basketball as the team would often be referred to as the “Jail Blazers” and Stoudamire would play a part in that as well. And Although he would never repeat his individual success from Toronto or team success from his first years in Portland, he was still a serviceable starter for the team for close to a decade and would then transition into a more of a veteran presence during stints with the Grizzlies and Spurs to end his career.
His best years came and went quickly, and he always struggled with efficiency and shot selection, but in his prime he was lightning quick and super exciting and doing what he did in the NBA at his height made it all the more impressive, so today we’re going to take a look at the career of Mighty Mouse, Damon Stoudamire; let’s jog your memory.
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