If there's one thing we can say about Portland Trail Blazers big man Hassan Whiteside, it's that the 30-year-old veteran is never short of self-belief.
Following another outstanding performance for the Blazers on Saturday, the 7-foot big man was at it again, claiming that he is far and beyond the best rim protector in the entire league today.
“I’m a defensive guy,” he said, via Dwight Jaynes of NBC Sports. “I feel like I’m the best rim protector in the league. It’s not even close.”
To be fair to Whiteside, it is indeed hard to argue with his statement here following another monster performance, logging 16 points (6-of-9 from the field, 4-of-4 from the line), 22 rebounds, two assists, a steal, and seven blocks, as he helped his team to a 113-106 victory against a Karl-Anthony Towns-less Minnesota Timberwolves side.
Whiteside then went on to say that at this point, this type of production no longer come as a surprise. As a matter of fact, it has become more of an expectation from the former second-round pick.
“I feel like it’s that way with blocks,” he said. “When I came into the league my first year with the Heat, I averaged almost four blocks a game. And then the year after that, I led the league in rebounds and it was like, ‘Why didn’t he average four blocks? Is he not trying?’ And that was kind of a different era – a lot of three-point shooting. There was less scoring in the paint.”
Right now, Whiteside is once again leading the league in blocks, with 2.7 rejections per ballgame. He has accompanied this with some pretty impressive all-around numbers with 15.7 points (on 61.1 percent shooting), 13.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 29.2 minutes per contest.
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