A Basic History of the Portland Trail Blazers Basketball Team

The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association. The Trail Blazers play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.

The Portland Trail Blazers are currently owned by Paul Allen and are coached by Nate McMillan. The official colors of the Trail Blazers are black, silver, red, and white. The Portland Trail Blazers are the only major professional sports team located in the state of Oregon.

The Portland Trail Blazers were founded in 1970 and began by playing their home games in the Memorial Coliseum. The Trail Blazers played in the Memorial Coliseum until 1995 when they moved their home games to Rose Garden Arena. The Trail Blazers currently still play in Rose Garden Arena.

In the franchise history of the Portland Trail Blazers, the team has won a total of four division titles in 1978, 1991, 1992, and 1999. The Trail Blazers have won three conference titles in 1977, 1990, and 1992, and won their only NBA Championship in 1977.

Four former members of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise are currently in the National Basketball Hall of Fame. Those four members are Clyde Drexler, Bill Walton, Lenny Wilkens, and former coach, Dr. Jack Ramsay.

Eight players have had their jersey numbers retired by the Portland Trail Blazers. Those players are Dave Twardzik - 13, Lionel Hollins - 14, Larry Steele - 15, Maurice Lucas - 20, Clyde Drexler - 22, Bill Walton - 32, Lloyd Neal - 36, and Geoff Petrie - 45. The number 77 was retired in honor of former head coach Dr. Jack Ramsay, signifying the year the Trail Blazer won their NBA Championship. The number 1 was also retired in honor of the team's founder and former owner, Larry Weinberg. The number was retired only to honor Weinberg, but it can still be worn by players.

Some other former fan favorites in Portland include Cliff Robinson, Steve Smith, Rod Strickland, and Isiah Rider.

The Portland Trail Blazers have often been jokingly called the "Jail Blazers" referring to the numerous problems players had with the law during the late nineties and early 2000s.

The current Portland Trail Blazers team is in a rebuilding stage. The team is captained by power forward Zach Randolph. A bright spot for the team is the 2006-2007 NBA Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy who showed that he could be a future star in the NBA. Other fan favorites currently on the Portland Trail Blazers include Jarrett Jack, Jamaal Magloire, and Travis Outlaw.