"Summer was turning into fall in 2007 when Greg Oden did what he had done a million other times in his life.

He got up out of a chair.

Only this time, his life would never be the same.

It was a wonderful time back then. Three months earlier, he was the No. 1 overall pick by the Trail Blazers in the NBA draft, a 7-foot, 270-pound giant who would team with two other young hotshots named Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge to resurrect the state's only professional sports franchise.