The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team played its home games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to Moda Center in 1995. 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 only since surpassed by the Boston Red Sox. The Trail Blazers have been the only NBA team based in the bi-national 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.
Clyde Austin Drexler is an American retired professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he was a ten-time All-Star during his career, and named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Drexler won an Olympic gold medal in 1992 as part of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team and an NBA Championship in 1995 with the Houston Rockets. He is a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. He currently serves as a color commentator for Houston Rockets home games.
Karl Anthony Malone is an American retired professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Mailman", Malone played the power forward position and spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton. Malone also played one season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Malone was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. His 36,928 career points scored rank second all-time in NBA history, and he holds the records for most free throws attempted and made, in addition to co-holding the record for the second-most first team All-NBA selections in history. He is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
Sean Michael Elliott is an American former professional basketball player who starred at small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career as a two-time All-American, winner of the 1989 John R. Wooden Award, the 1989 Adolph Rupp Trophy, the 1989 NABC Player of the Year, 1989 AP Player of the Year, and two time Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Jermaine Lee O'Neal is an American retired professional basketball player. The 6 ft 11 in, 255 lb (115 kg) forward–center had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft straight out of high school. O'Neal was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 17th overall pick, but was unable to break into the first team in Portland and was traded to the Indiana Pacers in 2000. In his eight seasons with the club, he was voted an NBA All-Star six times, made the All-NBA teams three times, and was voted the NBA Most Improved Player in the 2001–02 season. O'Neal also helped Indiana reach the NBA Playoffs six times, including the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2003–04 season.
Arvydas Romas SabonisLithuanian pronunciation: [ˈaːrviːdaːs ˈsaːboːnʲɪs]; born December 19, 1964) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time, he won the Euroscar six times, and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He played in a variety of leagues, and spent seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), in the United States. Playing the center position, Sabonis won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in South Korea, for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1996 Olympic Games, while representing Lithuania. He retired from professional basketball in 2005. Sabonis was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers, in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, but he did not play his first NBA game until the age of 31, in 1995.
Steven Delano Smith is an American retired basketball player who is currently a basketball analyst for Turner Sports. After a collegiate career with Michigan State, he played with several teams in his 14-season National Basketball Association career, including the Miami Heat, the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs, but is perhaps best known for his five-year stint with the Atlanta Hawks which included an All-Star Game appearance in 1998. He won a championship with the Spurs in 2003. Smith was widely regarded as an excellent three-point shooter, and is one of three players to make seven 3-pointers in a quarter.
Steven Hanson Blake is an American former professional basketball player and currently coaching intern of the Portland Trail Blazers. After winning the 2002 NCAA Championship with Maryland, Blake was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Over his 13-year NBA career, Blake had stints with the Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, and had three different stints with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Jerome Kersey was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1995), Golden State Warriors (1995–96), Los Angeles Lakers (1996–97), Seattle SuperSonics (1997–98), San Antonio Spurs (1998–2000), and Milwaukee Bucks (2000–01).
Brian Skinner is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'9", 255 lb forward-center from Baylor University, Skinner was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft. He has since played for the Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA, as well as the Italian team Benetton Treviso.
Brian Wade Grant is a retired American basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious rebounding and blue-collar defense. During his career, he played with the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
James Joseph Paxson is an American retired professional basketball player. A first round selection of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1979 NBA draft, Paxson played for Portland and the Boston Celtics of the NBA from 1979–1990 and was twice an All-Star. Paxson served as general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers for six years and now works as a consultant with the Chicago Bulls where his brother John Paxson is an executive.
The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1976–77 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers played against the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers, with the 76ers holding home-court advantage. Their four regular season meetings had been split evenly, 2–2, with neither side winning away from home. The series was played under a best-of-seven format, so the first team to win four games would win the series and become the league champions.
The 1992 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1991–92 NBA season. The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls took on the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers for the title, with Chicago having home court advantage, as they had the best record in the NBA that season.
The 1990 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1989–90 NBA season. The series pitted the Detroit Pistons against the Portland Trail Blazers. This was the first NBA Finals since 1979 not to involve either the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics.
LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The power forward played college basketball for two seasons with the Texas Longhorns. Aldridge was selected second overall in the 2006 NBA draft. After spending nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, he signed with the Spurs in 2015. He has been selected to five All-NBA teams and is a seven-time NBA All-Star. He is widely known for his signature fadeaway jump shot.
Travis Vernon Green is an ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously coached the American Hockey League's Utica Comets, Vancouver's top affiliate. Drafted 23rd overall in 1989, Green played for 5 different National Hockey League (NHL) teams in his 14-year career.
LeRoy Ellis was an American basketball player.
The 1976–77 season was the Portland Trail Blazers' 7th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The revamped Blazers would end up getting off to a terrific start winning 22 of their first 31 games. The Blazers won their last 5 games to post a record of 49–33. The Blazers made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and proceeded to stampede through the postseason. By the time the Blazers had made it to the 1977 NBA Finals, the city of Portland was truly in the grips of "Blazermania". After losing the first two games of the championship series at Philadelphia, the Trail Blazers won four in a row to bring the trophy to Portland. The championship capped the team's first winning season. The Blazers had a remarkable 45–6 record at home, which included a perfect 10–0 mark in the playoffs.
Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats and earned third-team All-American honors in 2012. After being selected by Portland with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, Lillard was unanimously voted the NBA Rookie of the Year. He has received four NBA All-Star selections, and is one of four players in Trail Blazers franchise history to become a four-time All-Star.
