Dear Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sincerely, Portland Trail Blazers Fans

Dear Giannis Antetokounmpo,

If there really is an offer on the table, and all that stands between you and starting a new chapter of your career with the Trail Blazers is your desire to play in Portland, then hear me out.

There are indeed things that the city of Portland cannot give you. 

Portland cannot get any closer to Greece. I’m sure that being near your home country, family and the people you are closest with is extremely important in your decision. Portland also cannot provide a year-round warm climate akin to Athens (although I’m sure you’ll find the early fall and late spring months to be extremely pleasant in the Pacific Northwest).

But what Portland lacks in regional accessibility, it makes up for in atmosphere.

For all the glory that Milwaukee and Wisconsin showered you with for delivering them a championship in 2021, that’s coming from a place where football is king. 

Portland is wholeheartedly and undeniably a basketball town. The City of Roses has no other competition for its prestige. Winning a title in Portland is an accomplishment that will never be trounced.

And that pedigree goes beyond the city of Portland and the state of Oregon. A nationally acclaimed little brother to its counterpart, Seattle, Portland is often scoffed at and passed aside within its own little part of the country. But Portland has the one thing that Seattle covets most: an NBA team. Bring a title to Portland, and you’ll forever go down as the Pacific Northwest’s greatest athlete.

Portland cares for its players, its celebrities, and anyone who hails from our state. Just ask Channing Frye, Robin Lopez, and, of course, your former teammate and friend, Damian Lillard, why they came back to PDX. Even if it is far from Athens, it can serve as another home.

The talent on the roster, the fit with the team, the basketball reasons why the Trail Blazers do or don’t make sense are all things you know more about than I. 

But what I do know, what I can guarantee you, is that no other city in the NBA will cherish you in your quest for another championship more than Rip City.

Sincerely,

Portland Trail Blazer Fans