Portland Trail Blazers facts for kids

Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
Conference	Western
Division	Northwest
Founded	1970
History	Portland Trail Blazers; 1970–present
Arena	Moda Center
Location	Portland, Oregon
Team colors	Red, black, white;
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)
Website	www.nba.com/blazers

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.

Images for kids

Trail Blazers logo 1970–1991
Sidney Wicks, who played in four NBA All-Star Games while with the Trail Blazers, won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 24.5 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game.
Bill Walton won the NBA Finals MVP in 1977 and was named the NBA Regular Season MVP in 1978 while with the Trail Blazers.
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.
Clyde Drexler played in Portland from 1983 to 1995.
After being drafted by the Trail Blazers several years prior, Arvydas Sabonis made his NBA debut during the 1995–96 season.
Maurice Cheeks was hired as the Trail Blazers head coach in 2001.
Brandon Roy was chosen as the NBA Rookie of the Year after the 2006–07 season.
Number-one overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft Greg Oden suffered several injuries during his tenure in Portland.
LaMarcus Aldridge played his first 9 years of his pro career in Portland.
Nate McMillan as the Trail Blazers head coach for seven years (2005–12).
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.
Portland's current head coach is Terry Stotts, who was hired in 2012.
The current Portland Trail Blazers home, road, alternate and pride uniforms.
Microsoft co-founder and Vulcan Inc. chairman Paul Allen has owned the Trail Blazers since 1988.
The team's headquarters and practice facility are in Tualatin, Oregon.