The Portland Trail Blazers failed to reach the postseason in any of their first six seasons in existence, and have managed to do so just twice in the past seven.
And in the 27 seasons (1976-2003) in between?
Twenty-six trips to the postseason, 24 .500-or-better seasons, six conference finals appearances, three conference titles, and an NBA championship.
Consider another interesting factoid: After missing the playoffs in each of their first half dozen seasons, the Blazers captured the NBA’s ultimate prize in their first postseason appearance.
Unfortunately, this is not all the Blazers are known for. In addition to nearly three decades of consistency sandwiched between a pair of lean stretches, the Blazers are known for catching some tough breaks, no pun intended. Well, maybe a little.
Three times in a 32-year span, Portland has drafted a big man with a top-two draft pick with hopes of entrusting its future to a franchise cornerstone.
The first time this happened was in 1974, when the Trail Blazers used the first overall pick in the draft on UCLA superstar Bill Walton. Walton was chronically plagued by cripp ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Emile Avanessian
Portland Trail Blazers: NBA All-Time Starting Fives
September 2nd, 2010 by Emile Avanessian Leave a reply »
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