About the Portland TrailBlazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team and one of seven teams in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The teams name refers to the travelers of the Oregon Trail, a route used by Lewis and Clark to explore the American West.

The Trail Blazers joined the NBA in the 1970-71 season and won the league title six years later with a team led by center Bill Walton and forward Maurice Lucas. In the early 1990s the Blazers were again among the NBAs best franchises. Powered by guards Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter and forward Buck Williams, the team made it to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992.

The Trail Blazers joined the NBA during a league-wide expansion season that also included the Buffalo Braves and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The original Portland team featured guard Geoff Petrie and forward LeRoy Ellis; it registered a record of 29-53. Portland had several talented rookies, and Petrie shared the NBA rookie of the year award with co-rookie of the year Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics. Blazers forward Sidney Wicks won the ROY award the following year. After their first season, the Blazers placed near the bottom of the league during their next three seasons. A 27-55 record in 1973-74 earned the Blazers the number-one selection in the 1974 NBA draft, which the team used to draft Bill Walton, a three-time college player of the year while at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

With Walton at center and former St. Louis Hawks star Lenny Wilkens at the helm, the Blazers won 38 games in the 1974-75 season and 37 games the following year. Before the 1976-77 year, former Buffalo Braves coach Jack Ramsay replaced Wilkens. Ramsay brought a disciplined, team-oriented strategy to the team, which had added guard Lionel Hollins in the 1975 NBA draft and power forward Maurice Lucas from the dismantled American Basketball Association (ABA).

In Ramsays first season, the Blazers ended the season with a 49-33 record. In the playoffs, the Blazers defeated the Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Lakers to reach the NBA championship round. In the finals the Blazers were considered an underdog against the Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by forward Julius Erving. The Blazers lost the first two games but won the next four contests to capture the franchises first title in game six.

In the 1977-78 season, the Trail Blazers amassed a 58-24 record and Walton won the leagues most valuable player (MVP) award. In the playoffs, however, Walton was slowed by an injury, and the Blazers lost to the Seattle SuperSonics. Walton continued to be plagued by injuries, missing the entire 1978-79 campaign before joining the San Diego Clippers the following year as a free agent. Portland stayed competitive and missed the playoffs only once from 1978-79 through 1985-86.

In the early 1990s, Portland players Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and Buck Williams helped make the team one of the NBAs best. Under head coach Rick Adelman, the Blazers won 59 games in the 1989-90 campaign and in the playoffs made it to the NBA Finals. There the Blazers lost to the Detroit Pistons. The next season Portland notched 63 wins and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. During the 1991-92 season Portland won 57 games, and in the playoffs the team beat the Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz before losing to the Chicago Bulls in game six of the NBA Finals.