- NBA Championships: 1
- Last NBA Championship: 1977
- Claim to Fame: The Trail Blazers sold out 814 straight home games from 1977 to 1995.
- Claim to Shame: The Blazers selected Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft. Oden appeared in 82 games over five seasons while KD has become a nine-time All-Star and has won four scoring titles and two Finals MVPs.
The last time the Trail Blazers won an NBA championship Jimmy Carter was in the Oval Office, Star Wars was in theaters, and a postage stamp cost just 13 cents.
Portland may have peaked in 1977 with their first – and only – title, but they enjoyed an exceptionally long run in the years following, qualifying for the playoffs every season from 1983-2003. Much of the credit for their consistency goes to coachable, low-key stars like Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and Jerome Kersey, all of whom cast aside their personal agendas and bought into the franchise’s team-first ethos. The team’s scouting department also deserves a tip of the cap for unearthing hidden gems like Arvydas Sabonis and Drazen Petrovic, both of whom are now enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Portland came close to adding a second title in 1990, but were soundly defeated in the NBA Finals by the Pistons. They whiffed again in 1992, losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in six hard-fought games.
The Blazers hit a rough patch near the start of the new Millennium, but have been enjoying a renaissance lately under the watchful eye of head coach Terry Stotts. The erudite bench boss guided Portland to 54 wins in 2013-14 and has led them into the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
Stotts and the Blazers enjoyed another solid campaign in 2017-18, finishing with 49 wins and ranking in the top ten league-wide in defensive rating and plus/minus.
Portland fans can expect more of the same this season thanks to the return of high-scoring guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, and versatile big man Jusuf Nurkic, whom the Blazers signed to a four-year, $48 million deal this summer. The club also improved its depth with the acquisitions of Seth Curry and Nik Stauskas, a pair of elite marksmen who should give their bench unit an enormous boost.
