Ex-NBA guard: Injuries only reason Brandon Roy not on LeBron James, Kobe Bryant level

For an NBA player's name to even be mentioned in the same conversation as LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, he has to be beyond exceptionally special. Former Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy was just that, at least in the eyes of former NBA guard Nate Robinson.

Roy, the former No. 6 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, was a special talent out of the University of Washington, and that became apparent during his rookie season. Robinson took to social media to show some love to the former guard, whose career was derailed by injuries. He stated that Roy doesn't get enough love for what he did, and if he hadn't gotten hurt, we'd talk about him "like he Kobe or Bron," as Lakers Daily detailed.

Roy was named an NBA All-Star three times while also winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2006-07, a season in which he averaged 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Knee injuries ultimately derailed an incredibly promising career, and based on career trajectory alone, it's hard not to at least give him a legitimate tip of the cap and acknowledge the potential upside he had career-wise.

Following Roy's rookie season, he averaged 19.1 points, 5.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game as an encore performance. Arguably his two most impressive seasons came in years three and four, as Roy averaged north of 20 points per game (22.6 and 21.5). During the 2008-09 season, his third in the league, he also tacked on 5.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48% from the field and an impressive 37.7% from three-point range.

Roy wound up, unfortunately, battling injuries that severely impacted his career following the 2009-10 season. He played in just 47 games during the 2010-11 season, starting 23 and averaging 12.2 points per game, and then missed the entire 2011-12 season after retiring. He attempted to make a comeback with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012-13 but played in just five games before calling it a career for good.

As far as the comparison based on potential to James and Bryant, that's a huge statement to make, but it truly is anyone's guess as to whether it would have played out. Roy's career never gave fans a chance to find out what his upside could have looked like, but projecting him to at least be one of the best shooting guards in the NBA if injuries hadn't derailed his career certainly wouldn't be an unfair statement to make.