PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS FRANCHISE HISTORY
Previous Franchise Names: None
Principal Owner: Paul Allen
CEO: Chris McGowan
President of Basketball Operations: Neil Olshey
Head Coach: Terry Stotts
Best Season: 1990-91 (63-19, .768)
Playoff Appearances: 31
NBA Championships: 1 (1976-77)
DENVER – 1989: Kevin Duckworth #00, Jerome Kersey #25, and Clyde Drexler #22 of the Portland Trail Blazers wait for the inbounds pass against the Denver Nuggets during the 1988-1989 NBA season game at the McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
The Portland Trail Blazers won an NBA championship the very first time they made the playoffs. They haven’t repeated the feat since.
The Blazers were one of three teams to join the NBA as part of an expansion in 1970 and went through six straight losing seasons before breaking through behind Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas and new coach Jack Ramsay to win the title in 1976-77.
Portland reached the Finals in 1990 and 1992, falling short to the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, respectively, during a 21-year streak of playoff berths that begin in 1983 and ran through 2003.
Playoff success, however, has been elusive for the Blazers, who have just one series victory since reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2000.
Clyde Drexler rose to superstar status in the 1980s and fueled Portland’s Finals runs in the early 1990s, but the club also has an unfortunate history of stars (or potential stars) falling to major injuries, including Walton, former Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy and 2007 first overall pick Greg Oden.
In 46 seasons, the Blazers have made the postseason 31 times. But 20 of those appearances ended with first-round defeats.
Ramsay coached the Blazers from 1976-77 through 1985-86 and leads the franchise with a record of 453-367 in the regular season and 29-30 in the playoffs—a record that is just 15-25 when the 1977 championship run is factored out.
Portland Trail Blazers Career Leaders (as of 3/9/2016)
- Games, Clyde Drexler, 867
- Points, Clyde Drexler, 18040
- Rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge, 5434
- Assists, Terry Porter, 5319
- Steals, Clyde Drexler, 1795
- Blocks, Mychal Thompson, 768
during media interview as coach Jack Ramsay (L) holds NBA Championship Trophy in locker room after winning Game 6 and series vs Philadelphia 76ers at Memorial Coliseum.Portland, OR 6/5/1977
CREDIT: Hank Delespinasse (Photo by Hank Delespinasse /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
(Set Number: X21523 TK3 R1 F33 )
Portland Trail Blazers Retired Numbers
- 1, Larry Weinberg
- 13, Dave Twardzik
- 14, Lionel Hollins
- 15, Larry Steele
- 20, Maurice Lucas
- 22, Clyde Drexler
- 30, Bob Gross
- 30, Terry Porter
- 32, Bill Walton
- 36, Lloyd Neal
- 45, Geoff Petrie
- 77, Jack Ramsay
Portland Trail Blazers Official Links
Official Team Site: nba.com/blazers
Official Twitter Handle: @trailblazers
Official Facebook Page: Portland Trail Blazers
Official Instagram Page: Portland Trail Blazers
Official Arena Page: Moda Center
Portland Trail Blazers Beat Writers
Joe Freeman, The Oregonian, @blazerfreeman
Kerry Eggers, Portland Tribune, @kerryeggers
Casey Holdahl, Trailblazers.com, @chold
Mike Richman, The Oregonian, @mikegrich
Erik Gundersen, The Columbian, @blazerbanter
Related Portland Trail Blazers Blogs and Links
Portland Trail Blazers Logo History, courtesy of Chris Creamer’s Sportslogos.net
Salary Page: Portland Trail Blazers Salaries at Spotrac
FanSided Portland Trail Blazers: Rip City Project
SB Nation Portland Trail Blazers: Blazer’s Edge
HoopsHabit Portland Trail Blazers Archive: Portland Trail Blazers
Bleacher Report Portland Trail Blazers Team Stream: Portland Trail Blazers
RealGM Portland Trail Blazers Page: Portland Trail Blazers
Stats and retired number information courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com
