Portland Trail Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers
2024–25 Portland Trail Blazers season
Portland Trail Blazers logo
ConferenceWestern
DivisionNorthwest
Founded1970
HistoryPortland Trail Blazers
1970–present[1][2][3]
ArenaModa Center
LocationPortland, Oregon
Team colorsRed, black, white[4][5]
     
Main sponsorBrightside Windows[6]
PresidentDewayne Hankins[7]
General managerJoe Cronin[8]
Head coachChauncey Billups
OwnershipPaul G. Allen Estate (Jody Allen, chairwoman)[9]
Affiliation(s)Rip City Remix[10]
Championships1 (1977)
Conference titles3 (1977, 1990, 1992)
Division titles6 (1978, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2015, 2018)
Retired numbers12 (1, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 30, 30, 32, 36, 45, 77)
Websitewww.nba.com/blazers
Association jersey
Team colours
Association
Icon jersey
Team colours
Icon
Statement jersey
Team colours
Statement

The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team played its home games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to Moda Center in 1995 (called the Rose Garden until 2013). The franchise entered the league as an expansion team in 1970, and has enjoyed a strong following: from 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American major professional sports at the time, and which has only since been surpassed by the Boston Red Sox and the Dallas Mavericks.[11] The Trail Blazers are the only NBA team based in the Pacific Northwest, after the Vancouver Grizzlies relocated to Memphis and became the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001 and the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.

The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA championship once in 1977. Their other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992.[12][13] The team has qualified for the playoffs in 37 seasons of their 54-season existence (through the 2023–24 season), including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003, tied for the second longest streak in NBA history.[14][15] The Trail Blazers' 37 playoff appearances rank fourth in the NBA only behind the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs since the team's inception in 1970.[16] Six Hall of Fame players have played for the Trail Blazers (Lenny Wilkens, Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, Dražen Petrović, Arvydas Sabonis, and Scottie Pippen).[17] Bill Walton is the franchise's most decorated player; he was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1977, and the regular season MVP the following year.[12][18] Four Blazers' rookies (Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, Brandon Roy and Damian Lillard) have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Three players have earned the Most Improved Player award: Kevin Duckworth (1988), Zach Randolph (2004), and CJ McCollum (2016). Three Hall of Fame coaches – Lenny Wilkens, Jack Ramsay, and Rick Adelman – have patrolled the sidelines for the Blazers, and two others, Mike Schuler and Mike Dunleavy, have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award with the team.[19]

  1. ^ "Trail Blazers Yearly Milestones" (PDF). 2023–24 Portland Trail Blazers Media Guide. NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "Franchise History–NBA Advanced Stats". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  3. ^ "NBA.com/Stats–Portland Trail Blazers seasons". Stats.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  4. ^ Holdahl, Casey (October 30, 2020). "Trail Blazers Reveal 2020–21 Season Court Design at Smallest Park in the World". TrailBlazers.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. The design features an apron split diagonally in the team's red and black colors, with five stripes added to mimic the pinwheel logo representing teamwork, unity and competition.
  5. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers Reproduction and Usage Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  6. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers And Brightside Windows Announce Expansive Jersey Patch Partnership". TrailBlazers.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. September 30, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "Trail Blazers Announce President Transition". TrailBlazers.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. November 12, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "Statement From The Portland Trail Blazers". TrailBlazers.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. December 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers Front Office Staff". TrailBlazers.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers Launch NBA G League Team To Play At Chiles Center On The University Of Portland Campus". NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. April 26, 2023. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  11. ^ Edes, Gordon (April 11, 2013). "Red Sox's sellout streak ends". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "NBA Season Recaps: A look back at every season since 1946". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers Team Info and News". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  14. ^ "Trail Blazers History '92–'06". TrailBlazers.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. November 1, 2015. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  15. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers Franchise Index". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  16. ^ Holdahl, Casey (March 31, 2015). "Trail Blazers Blowout Suns To Clinch Playoff Spot". ForwardCenter. Portland Trail Blazers. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  17. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers Hall of Fame Register". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  18. ^ "NBA Postseason awards: Most Valuable Player". NBA Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
  19. ^ "NBA Coach of the Year Award Winners". NBA.com. National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2012.