Home > Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are a National Basketball Association team based in Portland, Oregon.- Founded: 1970
- Home Arena: Rose Garden Arena
- Uniform colors: Red and black
- Logo design: Five parallel red lines slant right and upward from the bottom and curve left to meet five parallel white lines that curve downward and leftward from the top. It is supposed to represent trails being blazed.
- NBA Championships: 1977
- Owner: Paul Allen
1 Early Franchise history
On February 6, 1970, the NBA board of governors granted the Blazers franchise, after the Blazers paid $3.7 million to join the league. In that year, the Buffalo Braves and the Cleveland Cavaliers also joined the league. The team was based around Geoff Petrie , a first round draft choice, and the 6'10" (2.08 m) tall LeRoy Ellis , who they picked up in the expansion draft. Their first season the Blazers finished with a 29-53 record, which although generally poor was the best out of the three new teams to the NBA. The next year, the Blazers won only 18 games, but rookie Sidney Wicks was named Rookie of the Year of the NBA. The Blazers did not beat their first season's record until they drafted Bill Walton from UCLA.
2 Recent franchise history
After nine years as president and general manager, Bob Whitsitt announced his departure from the Trail Blazers on May 7, 2003, stating that he was retiring to focus his attention on the Seattle Seahawks NFL team. However, he had been the subject of continuous criticism from the team's fans and both the local and national press for team performance on the court, as well as player legal troubles off the court.
The Blazers announced Steve Patterson as team president June 18, 2003 and announced
that John NashJohn Nash may refer to: John Nash (architect) ( 1752- 1835), British architect John Forbes Nash (born 1928), mathematician and recipient of the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. would become general manager on July 15July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. Events 1099 Christian soldiers take Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after a difficult siege during First Crusade. 1207 John of England.
3 Players of note
3.1 Basketball Hall of FameThe Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honors players who have shown extreme skill at basketball, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game. A few entire teams have been inducted as well, including the Buffalo Gers
- Drazen PetrovicDrazen Petrovic ( October 22, 1964 June 7, 1993) was a successful basketball player from Croatia. Born in Sibenik, he started playing for his local club Sibenka. With Petrovic in the squad in 1979, Sibenka's U-16 squad was a leading competitor in the Yugo
- Bill Walton
- Lenny WilkensLenny Wilkins is the National Basketball Association's winningest coach with over a thousand wins. The Hall Of Famer was named head coach of the New York Knicks on January 15, 2004. Wilkins has coached for 31 seasons. Wilkens, Lenny.
3.2 Not to be forgotten
- Clyde DrexlerClyde "The Glide" Drexler (born 2 June 1962 in New Orleans, Louisiana) was an all-star NBA guard. He attended the University of Houston and was drafted 14th overall in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He helped lead that team to the NBA F
- Bill Walton
- Maurice Lucas
- Buck Williams
- Bill Schonley
- Jerome Kersey
- Terry Porter
- Ramon Ramos
- Dave Twardzik
- Drazen Petrovic
- Arvydas Sabonis
- Kevin Duckworth
- Cliff Robinson
- Lloyd Neal
