Who Is Trendon Watford? (Everything You Need to Know about the Blazers’ NBA Summer League MVP)

People have clamored for the Portland Trail Blazers to get Damian Lillard some help for years, and while he's not as splashy as acquiring Kevin Durant would be, Trendon Watford is here to provide any assistance he can.

You're forgiven if you're not familiar with Watford, the 21-year-old former LSU standout who averaged 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds for Portland over 48 games last here, but it's time to fix that.

Who is Trendon Watford?

At 6'9" and 240-lbs, Watford is like if you combined the Energizer Bunny with Myles Garrett. He's a hulking human, terrifying defenders with electric play and non-stop energy.

After being named to the All-SEC Freshman Team in his first year with the Tigers, Watford became a stellar college player, helping lead LSU to a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament in his sophomore campaign.

Watford made the All-SEC First Team in 2021, leading the conference in defensive rebounds per game (5.71) while ranking fourth in field goal percentage (48%) with nine games of 20 or more points.

Undrafted out of college, Watford quickly made himself a favorite of the organization with his hustle and tremendous rebounding ability. He's not a star, but he's the kind of role player the Trail Blazers need to surround Lillard with to return to the postseason.

He's certainly earned a spot in the rotation moving forward and average over a steal and block per game per 36 minutes in his rookie season. Averaging 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks in 28.8 minutes per contest in the Summer League, Watford has also showcased an improved shot, making three of six three-pointers during the championship game.

WynnBET Sportsbook currently has Portland listed at +8000 to win the NBA Finals, and players like Watford will go a long way towards returning the Trail Blazers to glory.

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.