The 1983 Western Conference Finals Game 5 vs San Antonio Spurs

Lore & Background

The team played its home games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to the Moda Center in 1995 (called the Rose Garden until 2013). The franchise entered the league as an expansion team in 1970. Harry Glickman became interested in creating an NBA team in his hometown of Portland when Memorial Coliseum opened in 1960, but the NBA commissioner at the time, Maurice Podoloff, refused on the grounds that Portland was too far west. However, Podoloff's successor, J. Walter Kennedy, expanded the league into the West throughout the 1960s. On February 6, 1970, the NBA board of governors granted Portland – along with Buffalo, New York, and Cleveland – the rights to a franchise in return for a $3.7 million admission. The name 'Trail Blazers' was suggested by 172 people, and was ultimately selected by a drawing on March 13. The team's rallying cry is 'Rip City', coined by play-by-play announcer Bill Schonely during their inaugural season.

Reader's Guide

The Blazers selected the first players to join their team in the 1970 NBA draft. The team chose Geoff Petrie eighth overall, making him the first draft pick in franchise history. The Blazers played their first game on October 16, 1970 against fellow expansion team the Cleveland Cavaliers, which they won 115–112. The team went on to have a season record of 29 wins and 53 losses, with Petrie winning co-Rookie of the Year. Led by head coach Jack Ramsay, the Blazers had their first winning record during the 1976–77 season, in which they made the playoffs for the first time, and went on to win the 1977 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers 4–2. Bill Walton was named the Finals MVP. The following season, Walton was named the NBA MVP after leading the Blazers to the best record in the league with 58 wins and 24 losses. In the 1980s, the Blazers made the playoffs every season except 1981–82. In the 1983 draft, the team selected Clyde Drexler 14th overall. After multiple consecutive seasons of first round losses in the playoffs, the Ramsay era ended after the 1986 season. In his first full season, Rick Adelman led the Blazers to the 1990 NBA Finals, but the team lost 4–1 to the Detroit Pistons. Adelman led the team to a franchise record 63 wins in the 1990–91 season. The Blazers made their third Finals appearance in franchise history in 1992, but were defeated 4–2 by the Chicago Bulls. Mike Dunleavy led the team to back-to-back conference finals appearances in 1999 and 2000. Damian Lillard was selected in the 2012 NBA draft, and won Rookie of the Year. In the 2014 playoffs, Lillard lead the Blazers to their first playoff series win in 14 years with a game-winning shot at the buzzer in game 6 against the Houston Rockets, winning the series 4–2. In the first round of the 2019 playoffs, Lillard had another series-winning buzzer beater, this time against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team made it to the conference finals, but were swept by the Golden State Warriors. Chauncey Billups was hired as the head coach before the 2021–22 season. On October 23, 2025, Billups was arrested as part of an ongoing federal gambling investigation by the FBI. As a result, the Blazers named Tiago Splitter as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Did You Know?

• The Blazers sold out 814 consecutive home games from 1977 through 1995, the longest such streak in American major professional sports at the time.
• The team's all-time points leader is Damian Lillard with 19,376 points.
• The Blazers were the second team in NBA history to come back from an 0–2 deficit in the Finals to win the series.