Brandon Roy is a former basketball player and coach from the United States. He is the head coach of the boys’ basketball team at Seattle’s Garfield High School.
Brandon was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six seasons.
The player was drafted sixth overall in the 2006 NBA Draft after spending four years with the Washington Huskies. His nickname was “B-Roy,” but Trail Blazers announcer Brian Wheeler referred to him as “The Natural.”
Unfortunately, Brandon’s career eventually ended when he was only 27 years old. As a result, we never saw his full potential or what Portland could have accomplished with him on the court. Roy is one of those “what if” type players.
Here, in this article, we have gathered all that you need to know about the former NBA player, Brandon Roy. So, if you wish to know about Roy, please read the article to the end.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Brandon Dawayne Roy |
| Birth Date | July 23, 1984 |
| Birth Place | Seattle, Washington |
| Nickname | B-Roy, The Natural |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | American |
| High School | Garfield High School |
| College | University of Washington |
| Playing Career | 2006–2011, 2012–2013 |
| Zodiac | Leo |
| Chinese Zodiac | Rat |
| Father’s Name | Tony Roy |
| Mother’s Name | Gina Roy |
| Siblings | Ed Roy, Jameela Roy |
| Age | 39 years old |
| Height | 6 feet 6 inches |
| Weight | 96 kg |
| NBA Draft | Round: 1, Pick: 6th overall, 2006 |
| Shoots | Right |
| Tattoos | No |
| Food Habits | Non-veg |
| Points | 6,136 (18.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,388 (4.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,517 (4.7 apg) |
| Hair Color | Light Brown |
| Eye Color | Hazel |
| Career Highlights |
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| Build | Athletic |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Tiana Bardwell |
| Children | Two |
| Jersey Number | 7, 3 |
| Coaching Career | 2016–2018, 2019–present |
| Position | Shooting Guard |
| League | NBA |
| Net Worth | $40 Million |
| Annual Salary | Under Review |
| Social Media | |
| Merch | The Brandon Roy Story |
| Last Update | April 2024 |
Brandon Roy: Early Life and Family
Brandon Roy, the former NBA player, was born on July 23, 1984, in Seattle, Washington. His mother’s name is Gina Roy and his father’s name is Tony Roy.
The player went to African-American Academy for elementary school. He also first became interested in basketball while playing for the Amateur Athletic Union. The union is one of the largest sports organizations in the United States.
For this education, Roy went to Garfield High School in Seattle. There, he was regarded as one of the best high school players in the state.
Straight out of high school, Brandon was an early entry candidate for the 2002 NBA draft. However, he withdrew his name after being considered.
Mental Health and Hardships
Brandon had to overcome obstacles before enrolling in college. Roy’s parents and older brother had not attended college, and he struggled with the SAT due to a learning disability.
The player’s reading comprehension was slow, which increased the time he needed for tests. He took the test four times (with tutoring) before meeting the NCAA requirements.
Likewise, Brandon also worked on the Seattle docks, cleaning shipping containers for $11 per hour because he was unsure whether he would be able to attend a four-year college.
Brandon Roy: College Career
Brandon began playing for the University of Washington in 2002. Under head coach Lorenzo Romar, he stayed for four years. He studied American Ethnic Studies as a major.
The player considered entering the draft after his junior year. However, he changed his mind after learning that teammate Nate Robinson and high school senior, and UW signee Martell Webster planned to do so.
The player saw an opportunity to advance in his college team’s ranks and improve his draft position.
Brandon averaged 20.2 points per game as a senior, leading the Huskies to a 26–7 record and a second consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance.
At the end of the season, he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and an All-American. The player was also a finalist for the Wooden, Naismith, Oscar Robertson, and Adolph Rupp awards.
Brandon Roy: Professional NBA Career
Roy worked out with the Trail Blazers before being selected sixth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006. However, he was quickly traded to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Randy Foye’s draft rights.
Brandon led all NBA rookies with 14.5 points per game at the end of January 2007. Likewise, Roy became the fourth Trail Blazer to be named to the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge rookie squad since the event’s inception in 1994.
Moreover, he was the first Trail Blazer to attend All-Star Weekend since Rasheed Wallace was named an All-Star reserve in 2001. He was also named the Rookie of the Year in the 2006-07 season.
Brandon signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on July 31, 2012, after announcing his retirement.
He joined All-Star forward Kevin Love and point guard Ricky Rubio in the deal. Minnesota released Roy on May 10, 2013.
Awards
- 3× NBA All-Star (2008–2010)
- All-NBA Second Team (2009)
- All-NBA Third Team (2010)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team and NBA Rookie of the Year (2007)
- Consensus first-team All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year, and First-team All-Pac-10 (2006)
- No. 3 retired by Washington Huskies
Likewise, as a coach, the player was also awarded the Naismith National HS Coach of the Year in 2017.
Brandon Roy: Injuries and Setbacks
Injuries took hold of Roy right from the beginning of his playing career. The player could only play 57 games in his first season due to a knee injury.
Brandon was also chosen to play in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, his third NBA All-Star appearance.
However, he was sidelined due to a right hamstring injury he sustained on January 13 against the Milwaukee Bucks and aggravated on January 20 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Similarly, the player suffered a right knee injury on April 11, 2010. A right knee bone contusion (bone bruise) was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging that night, and further examination of the MRI on April 12 revealed a minor meniscus tear.
Roy had surgery on April 16 and was expected to miss at least the first round of the 2010 NBA playoffs. However, after an eight-day layoff, he returned for Game 4 to lead the Blazers to victory.
Brandon had arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees on January 17, 2011. He announced his retirement from basketball just before the NBA training camp opened following the resolution of the 2011 NBA lockout.
The player’s knees had degenerated so much that he lacked cartilage between the bones of both knees.
However, he made a comeback to the NBA and stated that he had recovered sufficiently to play after undergoing the platelet-rich plasma procedure, which Kobe Bryant also underwent to keep his knees healthy.
The player felt good during training camp but was injured on October 26, 2012, during a collision during a preseason game. Roy appeared in five regular-season games before requiring season-ending knee surgery.
Brandon Roy: Body Measurements
Brandon Roy, a former NBA player, has an athletic build. The player weighs around 96 kg. Likewise, Roy has a height of is 6 feet 6 inches.
The player is 39 years old. Similarly, the player’s zodiac sign is Leo.
Brandon does not have any visible tattoos on his body. Moreover, the player is a follower of Christianity and is an American national.
Despite having a strong body and perfect athletic features, the player could not continue his playing career due to repeated knee injuries.
Brandon Roy: Coaching Career
After finishing his playing career, Brandon became the head coach of the boys’ basketball team at Nathan Hale High School in 2016.
Similarly, Roy was named head coach of Garfield High School’s boys’ basketball team in May 2017 after Michael Porter Jr., Jontay Porter, and P. J. Fuller left.
He stepped down as head coach for undisclosed reasons during the 2018–19 season. However, he returned in 2019.
Brandon Roy: Marital Life
On March 27, 2007, Roy’s longtime girlfriend Tiana Bardwell, gave birth to their first child, Brandon Jr. The couple gave the nickname BJ to their child.
The player took Tina out to look at rings about two months later just to get an idea of what Tina would like.
On June 16, 2007, while both of them were at Roy’s home in Renton, Washington, he texted Tina to look in a drawer in his closet and tell her she could have whatever she found.
When Bardwell found a ring she had mentioned liking, Roy entered the room with their son and said, “BJ wants to know if you will marry his daddy.” Tina agreed right away.
Roy described the proposal as “free-styled.” Mariah Leilani, Roy and Bardwell’s second child, was born in January 2009.
On September 4, 2010, the couple finally got married in West Linn, Oregon. More than one decade has passed since their marriage, and their love is still stronger than ever.
Shooting Incident
The former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy was shot and wounded on April 29, 2017, while he was at a party at his grandmother’s home in Compton, California.
Two people opened fire in the area and Brandon was one of four people who received non-life-threatening injuries. They were taken to a nearby hospital and then released.
The bullet wounds in the player’s lower right leg and lower butt cheeks on the right and left sides were caused by the shooting.
Brandon exclaimed that it was crazy to look down at his leg and see that his sweats had holes in them. The player couldn’t believe he had been shot.
Brandon described the moment to be terrifying. He further added that he was thinking about his children the entire time.
According to sources, Brandon was protecting some of the young people who were present at the venue.
Brandon Roy: Net Worth
Roy’s net worth is estimated to be $40 million. The former player was able to make a lot of money by playing for a few NBA teams. He later earned a lot more business ads, which increased his pay.
In previous years, he earned $17 million per year from his contract. Currently, Roy works as a coach and makes a good living, and lives a lavish lifestyle.
Playing and teaching basketball is his primary source of income.
Social Media
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- Instagram: 10.3k followers (As of May 2022)
Frequently Asked Questions
According to Brandon, what is the most challenging part of coaching?
Brandon says that the most difficult part is probably teaching and then watching kids apply what they’ve learned.
Getting kids to understand and trust the system is likely to be the most difficult adjustment. The hardest part is probably trusting the “we” rather than the “me.”
Did Nate McMillan and Brandon Roy get along with each other?
Nate McMillan was B-head Roy’s coach for every season he played for the Trail Blazers. However, their relationship wasn’t always smooth sailing.
It’s surprising to hear Roy’s relationship with McMillan was rocky, given that one of the main priorities for an NBA head coach nowadays is to ensure the happiness of the franchise star.
How many knee surgeries did Brandon Roy have?
The former NBA player, Brandon, underwent a total of six knee surgeries.
