Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers joined the National Basketball Association in 1970.  They play their home games at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, and are the state’s only major professional sports franchise. Their head coach is former NBA player Nate McMillan, and their owner is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Early Years

The early years of the Portland basketball franchise were painful, even for an expansion team. Although their two best players, Sidney Wicks and Geoff Petrie, were decent NBA professionals, the team posted dismal records during their first six years of existence. Of those seasons, their worst was 1971-72, when they went 18-64 (the lowest win total in team history). The best of those early seasons was 1974-75, when the Blazers went 38-44. During that time, they went through three head coaches.

Although the team (and its fans) suffered during those early seasons, better times were ahead.

That Championship Season

In 1976, the Trail Blazers hired Jack Ramsay as their head coach and acquired Maurice Lucas. Lucas and young center Bill Walton led Portland to a 49-33 regular season record (the team’s first winning record) and a playoff berth.

The Trail Blazers beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Denver Nuggets in the second round, and swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. In the NBA Finals, they played the Philadelphia 76ers and won, four games to two. It remains the only NBA championship in team history.

The following season, the team’s fortunes took a downturn when Walton suffered a season-ending foot injury. They would not appear in the NBA Finals again until 1990.

The Curse of Sam Bowie

In the 1984 Draft, the Trail Blazers had the #2 pick. This was a deep draft, and the Blazers had the opportunity to use it to fortify their team and possibly return to championship glory. Instead, they made what is widely considered the worst draft mistake in NBA history.

The Houston Rockets selected University of Houston center Akeem Olajuwon (who later added an “H” to his first name), giving the Blazers the chance to draft North Carolina shooting guard Michael Jordan. Because they had drafted a shooting guard the year before (Olajuwon’s college teammate Clyde Drexler), the Trail Blazers addressed their need for front-line size and picked center Sam Bowie. Jordan turned out to be an NBA great (perhaps the premier NBA great), while the injury-prone Bowie never fulfilled his promise.

1990s Finals appearances

The Trail Blazers, led by Drexler and point guard Terry Porter, were a playoff regular in the late 1980s. In the 1989-90 season, they made it to the NBA Finals but lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games.

Two season later, the Blazers found themselves in the Finals again, but ironically, they faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls won, four games to two.

2007-08 Season

After suffering a playoff drought (no playoff appearances since 2003), the Blazers were looking to return to the postseason. Their 2006 draft pick, Brandon Roy, was Rookie of the Year, and their 2007 pick, center Greg Oden (#1 overall), evoked memories of defensive stalwarts like Patrick Ewing and Bill Russell. However, Oden underwent microfracture surgery and did not play in the 2007-08 season.

Even without their center, the Blazers went 41-41.

2008-09 Season Outlook

With some smart personnel moves, the Blazers have been able to shed the “Jail Blazers” moniker they earned in the early part of this decade. The Trail Blazers now look forward to the return of center Greg Oden, who appears to be recovered. If Oden can provide tough defense and some inside scoring, and Roy continues to excel, the Trail Blazers have a chance to make some noise in the Western Conference.

Greatest Players

Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Maurice Lucas, Rasheed Wallace