Portland Trail Blazers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Portland Trail Blazers |
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Conference | Western | ||||
Division | Northwest | ||||
Founded | 1970 | ||||
History | Portland Trail Blazers 1970–present |
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Arena | Moda Center | ||||
Location | Portland, Oregon | ||||
Team colors | Red, black, white |
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Main sponsor | Performance Health (Biofreeze) | ||||
President | Chris McGowan | ||||
General manager | Neil Olshey | ||||
Head coach | Terry Stotts | ||||
Ownership | Estate of Paul Allen | ||||
Affiliation(s) | None | ||||
Championships | 1 (1977) | ||||
Conference titles | 3 (1977, 1990, 1992) | ||||
Division titles | 6 (1978, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2015, 2018) | ||||
Retired numbers | 12 (1, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 30, 30, 32, 36, 45, 77) | ||||
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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 (called the Rose Garden until 2013). 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 are 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.
The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA championship once in 1977. Their other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992. The team has qualified for the playoffs in 34 seasons of their 48-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003, tied for the second longest streak in NBA history. The Trail Blazers' 34 playoff appearances rank third in the NBA only behind the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs since the team's inception in 1970. Six Hall of Fame players have played for the Trail Blazers (Lenny Wilkens, Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, Dražen Petrović, Arvydas Sabonis, and Scottie Pippen). Bill Walton is the franchise's most decorated player; he was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1977, and the regular season MVP the following year. Four Blazers' rookies (Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, Brandon Roy and Damian Lillard) have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Three players have earned the Most Improved Player award: Kevin Duckworth (1988), Zach Randolph (2004), and CJ McCollum (2016). Two Hall of Fame coaches, Lenny Wilkens and Jack Ramsay, have patrolled the sidelines for the Blazers, and two others, Mike Schuler and Mike Dunleavy, have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award with the team.
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In his first season as the Trail Blazers head coach, Jack Ramsay led the team to their first playoff berth and eventually the championship. Bill Walton was the NBA Finals MVP.
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After being drafted by the Trail Blazers several years prior, Arvydas Sabonis made his NBA debut during the 1995–96 season.
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Brandon Roy was chosen as the NBA Rookie of the Year after the 2006–07 season.
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LaMarcus Aldridge played his first 9 years of his pro career in Portland.
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Damian Lillard is a two-time NBA All-Star (2014–2015) and was the unanimous choice for the NBA Rookie of the Year following the 2012–13 season.
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Microsoft co-founder and Vulcan Inc. chairman Paul Allen has owned the Trail Blazers since 1988.
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The team's headquarters and practice facility are in Tualatin, Oregon.
