Nassir Little

Casey Holdahl

PORTLAND, Ore. (April 13, 2023) – Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little underwent successful surgery today to repair a right-side core muscle injury.

The surgery was performed by Dr. William C. Meyers at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia. The procedure was similar to his left side repair performed May 10th of last year.

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Nassir Little Undergoes Abdominal Surgery

PORTLAND -- The Trail Blazers are going to be at a disadvantage versus nearly every team they face from now through the end of the regular season as long as Damian Lillard (right calf), Jerami Grant (left quad), Jusuf Nurkic (right knee) and Anfernee Simons (right foot) are all sidelined.

But the players who are available are still trying their hardest, and it was almost enough to come away with victory Sunday afternoon versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland led by as many as 12 in the first half and had they not turned the ball over 19 times for 29 Oklahoma City points, they likely would have avoided the season-series sweep, which the Thunder completed by coming away with the 118-112 victory in front of a crowd of 18,626 at Moda Center.

“I thought we played very well,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “Defensively and offensively, we were in tune, we did a good job. I thought we made Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) really work for his 31 (points) tonight. He got on the line, that’s just what he does, he’s really crafty and he does that, but for the most part, we did a good job on him, loading up. They had other guys that played well -- I don’t think we showed Isaiah Joe enough respect, we talked about him a ton, he found a way to break loose. But overall, I thought offensively we played pretty fast.”

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Chauncey Billups: "I keep preaching how we want to play" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 26, 2023

And at this point, showing growth is likely more important for Portland that simply winning, as the chances of making the play-in tournament, while still technically possible, are increasingly unlikely with two weeks to play in the regular season.

So in that regard, the Trail Blazers did make progress Sunday afternoon, as Shaedon Sharpe once again posted a career-high with 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting while doing an admirable job defending Gilgeous-Alexander. Keon Johnson was also able to show much of what he’s been working on behind the scenes this season, going for 14 points and five assists in 21 minutes off the bench.

But perhaps no Blazer showed more promise in Sunday afternoon’s contest than Nassir Little. The 6-5 forward, who has appeared in 50 games this season, posted a season-high 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 shooting from three and 3-of-3 shooting from the line to go with six rebounds in 31 minutes.

“Coach did a great job of drawing stuff to have me coming off pindowns, it allowed me to be aggressive,” said Little, who is averaging 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game this season. “I was able to see lanes, see how I could get my shot so props to him for getting me in position to get the ball and get open. I was kind of taking advantage of what they were giving me.”

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Nassir Little: "I love playing basketball" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 26, 2023

Little started the second half after coming off the bench in the first due to Trendon Watford missing the final 24 minute due to a sprained right ankle. And he responded by leading an 11-0 run that turned a six-point deficit into a three-point lead.

“Nas has done a really good job of just kind of sticking with whatever he’s getting out there,” said Billups. “There’s been so many times where he’s not played a lot based on however I’m making the rotations and he’s always stayed consistent with his work and the things he’s trying to do to prepare. And then you see him come in on a night like tonight and get up a lot of shots and make a whole lot of them.”

Little would go on to score 13 points in the third quarter on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting from the line. So the third quarter ended up being the kind opportunity for Little that he would rarely get were the entire roster suited up.

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Nassir Little Highlights (28 points) | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 26, 2023

“I’m not really trying to show anything in particular, just really when guys get down you’ve got just more opportunities,” said Little. “So like, whatever situation Coach got me in, I’m just trying to take advantage of it. Just got to be aggressive, my mindset has to change a little bit, they’re going to need me to score a little bit more. So just kind of doing that but it’s something I’m capable of doing so it’s not really like I feel like I’m trying to showcase something that they don’t know I can do.”

Little, who signed a four-year contract extension prior to the start of the regular season, probably hasn’t had the season that he would have hoped. But as long as there’s some season left, Little will continue to put in the work and build for future seasons, which is a win for the Trail Blazers regardless of the result.

“I love playing basketball. That’s what I love to do, that’s what I’ve been doing for the majority of my life,” said Little. “So any time I have an opportunity to get to do that at the highest level, I love that, I’m ecstatic about it. I wish it could be under a different circumstance but at the end of the day we have a job to do and I’m prepared to do that.”

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Little Looks To Take Advantage Of Late-Season Minutes

Kylan Iwamasa

Nassir talks to the media about his and the team's performance today.

Nassir highlights from a 28-point performance against the Thunder.

Nas speaks to Brooke following the win in Orlando.

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Nassir Little: "We got to enjoy this one, build off it" | Portland Trail Blazers | Mar. 5, 2023

Nas highlights from a team-high and season-high 26-point performance against the Kings.

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Nassir Little Highlights (Season-High 26 points) | Portland Trail Blazers | Feb. 23, 2023

Greetings loyal podcast listeners. After a rough start to the week, the vibes seem to be trending every so slightly in the right direction after wins versus the Spurs and Jazz. So before anything could potentially spoil the slight improvement, I wanted to get out the 20th edition of The Brief Case podcast, which you can and should listen and subscribe to below...

• The importance of the Trail Blazers having a strong finish to a six-game homestand after wins versus the Spurs and Jazz

• The recent play of Damian Lillard, including his stats in the month of January

• Dame not being named an All-Star starter and some of the changes the NBA is making to the All-Star Game this season

• How many games the Trail Blazers need to win in the unofficial second half of the season in order to surpass the win total Las Vegas predicted this season

And then we finish up the show with an interview with Nassir Little discussing his return from injury, the sacrifices he's made to take the next step in his career, being a more mindful person on and off the court and whether he thinks he's ready to become a starter in this league.

You can subscribe to the Brief Case on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, IHeartRadio, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Pocket Casts, Deezer and PlayerFM. Consider subscribing if you haven't already. And if you have, consider leaving a review!

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Dame Goes For 60 And A Conversation With Nas On The Brief Case

Nas on sharing the court with Dame on a historic night.

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Nassir Little: "You just sit back and enjoy it" | Portland Trail Blazers | Jan. 25, 2023

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