I posted this video in August 2018, after Caleb Swanigan’s rookie season with the Blazers. He’d been the Big Ten Player of the Year at Purdue, and Portland took him 26th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. If you want to see some of what we were watching that summer, he grabbed 11 rebounds against Atlanta and helped the Blazers beat the Lakers for the Summer League title.
Swanigan played three NBA seasons with Portland and Sacramento, including a return to the Blazers in 2020. He passed away on June 20, 2022, at just 25. One thing worth remembering about Biggie is what he did away from basketball. While he was in the NBA, he worked with FoodCorps and Portland-area kids to promote healthy eating in schools and fight childhood hunger. Rest in peace, Biggie.