Key Dates:
1970: Portland is granted an NBA franchise; Roland Todd is named as the first head coach; and the first game is played at Portland 's Memorial Coliseum.
1971:Geoff Petrie is named first Trail Blazer to play in the NBA All-Star game; and Rick Adelman is the first official captain of the Blazers.
1974:Bill Walton is chosen in the NBA draft; and Lenny Wilkins becomes head coach of the Blazers.
1976:Coach Wilkins is replaced by Jack Ramsay from Buffalo.
1977: Portland ends the season with 49 wins, 33 losses; and Blazermania is born when Portland wins the NBA Championships.
1978:Portland finishes the season with a 58-24 record, the best in the NBA.
1983:Portland sets an all-time club record with 156 points scored in a victory over Denver.
The 1974-75 witnessed two major personnel changes that breathed life into the Blazers. Lenny Wilkins was brought on as new head coach, and player Bill Walton, three-time College Player of the Year from UCLA, was taken as Portland's No. 1 choice in the 1974 NBA draft. Although injuries benched Walton in all but 35 games his rookie season, he averaged 12.8 points per game (ppg) and 12.6 rebounds per game (rpg). Sidney Wicks led the team with 21.7 ppg and 10.7 rpg in 82 games, and was selected to play in the NBA All-Star game. On February 26 in an Coach Wilkins, unable to transform the Blazers into winners, was replaced by Jack Ramsay in June 1976. Ramsay , having come to Portland after leading the Buffalo Braves to the NBA Finals three straight years, was one of several factors that transformed a new era for the Trail Blazers.
Labeled the "team of destiny," Portland began the 1977-78 season looking like true NBA champions. Through their first 60 games, they racked up 50 wins, including a club-record 26 wins in a row and outscored their opponents by 9.9 points per game. Then disaster struck when Walton and several other players went out with injuries the second half of the season. Despite winning only eight of their final 22 games, Portland managed to finish the season with the league's best record, 58-24, and limped into the Finals. The Blazers were ousted in the Western Conference Semifinals by their neighbors, the Seattle SuperSonics . Bill Walton, who had led the team in scoring (18.9 ppg), rebounding (13.2 rpg) and blocked shots (2.52 bpg), was selected as the NBA's MVP.
The 1999-2000 season saw an outstanding season of 59 victories, the second-best season in franchise history, marred by losses on and off the court. On May 5, popular Assistant Coach Bill Musselman lost a six-month battle with a rare disease, primary systemic amyloidosis . Two weeks earlier, the Blazers lost their regular season finale to Denver, failing to post the franchise's second 60-win season. In June, Portland's loss to Denver quelled their hopes for another NBA Finals matchup. New to the lineup were Bonzi Wells from Detroit, and Scottie Pippin traded from Houston. Mike Dunleavy was named NBA Coach of the Month in November. Rasheed Wallace was fifth in the league in field goal percentage and played in his first NBA All-Star game.
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