A brief history of the Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trailblazers are a National Basketball Association Team based out of Portland, Oregon. The Trailblazers are currently a member of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference and are owned by Microsoft mogul, Paul Allen. Nate McMillan is the Trailblazers took over the head coaching duties at the beginning of the 2005 season. The Trailblazers play their home games at the Rose Garden Arena in downtown Portland. The Rose Garden Arena was opened in 1995 and seats almost 20,000 NBA Basketball fans.

The Portland Trailblazers have been in the NBA for 35 seasons. They have won 1 NBA Finals Championships and 3 Western Conference Championships in 26 playoff appearances.

The Portland Trailblazers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970. Their first head coach was Rolland Todd and their first star player was Geoff Petrie. The Trailblazers spent the next 6 seasons slowly building a playoff contender. Legendary coach Lenny Wilkens coached the team in 1975 and 1976. Dr. Jack Ramsey became the head coach at the beginning of the 1976/1977 season. The Trailblazers won a franchise high 49 games in 1977 and reached the playoffs for the first time. The Trailblazers cruised through the Western Conference playoffs with wins over the Bulls, Nuggets and Lakers. The Trailblazers faced the heavily favored Dr. J and the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1977 NBA Finals. After falling behind the 76ers 2 games to 0, the Trailblazers stormed back to win the next 4 games for their first and only NBA Title. The 1977 Portland Trailblazers were led by Center Bill Walton and all Stars Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins.

The Portland Trailblazers have not won the NBA title since 1977 but they have been one of the most consistent NBA teams over the past quarter of a century. The Trailblazers reached the Playoffs 26 times in 27 seasons starting in 1977 and ending in 2003. During that time the Trailblazers won their division 4 times. They reached the Western Conference Finals 5 times and won 2 more Conference Titles in 1990 and again in 1992. The Portland Trailblazers lost the NBA Finals in 1990 to the Detroit Pistons 4 games to 1. They returned to the NBA Finals in 1992 and lost to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan 4 games to 2. This early 1990s Trailblazers team was coached by Rick Adelman and led by All Stars Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Jerome Kersey and Buck Williams.

Despite reaching the Playoffs between 1993 and 2003, the Trailblazers failed to reach the NBA finals. The closest they came was in 1999 and 2000 when they were beaten by the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers in consecutive Western Conference Finals. This Trailblazers squad had more a lot of off court problems that seemed to over shadowed their on the court success. By 2004, the community of Portland had began to sour on the teams off the court antics and attendance began to decline.

In 2004, the Trailblazers front office began to dismantle this dysfunctional team and started rebuilding. Former Seattle Supersonics player and coach, Nate McMillan was hired at the end of the 2005 season. The 2005/2006 Portland Trailblazers posted a league low 21 wins for the season and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year. The 2006/2007 Portland Trailblazers will feature a lot of new faces including 1st Round Draft Pick LaMarcus Aldridge from Texas. Portland Trailblazers season ticket holders are hoping that greener pastures are on the horizon for this once dominant franchise.