Portland, Ore. ? By a stroke of marketing luck, Brandon Roy’s last name is an acronym for Rookie of the Year.

While Roy makes a case for himself on the court as the league’s top rookie, the Blazers are taking full advantage of his last name to campaign off the court.

“I’m enjoying the success I’m having. I’m having a good time,” Roy said. “But it all starts with hard work. I worked really hard in the gym to get better on the court and rewards come with it. I’m going to continue to work hard and work with my teammates, be a team guy, and I hope good things keep coming to me.”

This week, the 6-foot-6 guard was leading all rookies with averages of 16.3 points and four assists per game. He was averaging 4.4 rebounds a game. He had scored in double digits in 41 of 49 games and had four double-doubles.

It has been a whirlwind season for the 21-year-old. Roy made his rookie debut, only to go down shortly thereafter with a heel injury that kept him out for 20 games. He bounced back, became a starter and made the rookie team at the All-Star game.

Roy was the fourth Blazer to make the All-Star rookie squad since the game was started as part of the All-Star weekend in 1994, joining Arvydas Sabonis (1996), and Alvin Williams and Kelvin Cato (1998).

He also has been named the Western Conference rookie of the month, twice.

Since the trip to Vegas, Roy had been eagerly awaiting the birth of his first child, Brandon Jr., who was born earlier this week.

In the midst of it all, the Blazers have been aggressively marketing “Roy Wonder.” T-shirts are emblazoned with the words “My Roy for R.O.Y.” The kickoff for the campaign appropriately was held in Roy, Ore.

The initiative is not only bringing voters’ attention to Roy. It also is installing him as the future of the Blazers franchise. And while the team is working hard to bring back fans disenfranchised by several down seasons, it’s almost as if they don’t really need to push Roy out there.

He’s doing fine all by himself.

“I love Brandon Roy. I love his game. He’s so smooth and carefree. It seems like he never turns the ball over. He sure doesn’t seem like a rookie in this league. He’s going to be The One in Portland,” Denver’s Carmelo Anthony said.

Nuggets coach George Karl said: “He’s very talented and handles the ball very well for his size. He does a nice job of making basketball plays instinctively.”

Last year’s Pac-10 Player of the Year as a senior at Washington, Roy was acquired in a draft-day trade. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected him sixth overall, and the Blazers swapped him for the draft rights to Randy Foye, the seventh pick.

Roy got off to a fast start, but problems with his heel became apparent when he was held out of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 8. An MRI revealed an impingement in his left heel bone, but no major damage. As a precaution, he wore a protective boot for a couple of weeks.

“That time of the year was tough for me. I had a lot of high goals coming into the year, and I had a really good preseason and I was really looking forward to my rookie season. Then having that injury, I didn’t know if I was going to play my rookie year or if I would be up and down from the injury,” he said.

He picked up right where he left off.

“I’m just excited that people knew that I missed those games early, but that I’m still having a good enough season to be mentioned for this award,” he said.

Others being mentioned as candidates are Rudy Gay of Memphis, Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani and Charlotte’s Adam Morrison.

Both Roy and Morrison are from the Pacific Northwest. Roy grew up in Seattle and played at Washington, while Morrison grew up in Spokane, Wash., and played at Gonzaga. Many in Portland were rooting for the Blazers to draft Morrison.

But the Blazers targeted Roy and center LaMarcus Aldridge.

“I think Adam Morrison will be a great pro, he’s had a heck of a rookie year,” said Kevin Pritchard, who was promoted to the team’s general manager on Thursday. “We liked Brandon because he was a mature kid, hard working, and willing to put the team first. He was the kind of player that could bring this team into a new era.

“But however good a player he is – we thought he was a better person, and that’s the God’s honest truth.”

Roy said his best friend, New York Knicks guard Jamal Crawford, prepared him for the business side of the NBA, and the importance of promoting both himself and the team.

But his main focus is the basketball.

“I’m going to continue to take the basketball side first, and hammer that side, and if people still want to put me in the rookie of the year race, great. I think that would be a great honor,” he said. “But it can’t be something I wake up every day thinking about, because for me, that’s too much pressure.”