1995–96 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the 26th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] After spending their first 25 years at the Memorial Coliseum, the Trail Blazers began playing at the new Rose Garden Arena this season.^[2][3] The team acquired the eighth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft from the Detroit Pistons via trade, and selected shooting guard Shawn Respert out of Michigan State University, but soon traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for power forward, and top draft pick Gary Trent out of Ohio University.^[4][5][6] Rookie center Arvydas Sabonis from Lithuania, who was drafted 24th overall by the Trail Blazers in the 1986 NBA draft, would finally make his debut in the NBA this season.^[7][8][9]

1995–96 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coach	P. J. Carlesimo
Arena	Rose Garden Arena
Results
Record	44–38 (.537)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Jazz 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KGW Prime Sports Northwest
Radio	KEX
< 1994–95 1996–97 >

The Trail Blazers held a 24–24 record at the All-Star break,^[10] and struggled playing below .500 basketball afterwards, posting a 26–34 record as of March 5, 1996. However, the team won 18 of their final 22 games of the regular season, and finished in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 44–38 record, which was the same record as the previous season, and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference.^[11] The team also made their 14th consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs, and 19th in 20 years.^[12]

Clifford Robinson averaged 21.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, and led the Trail Blazers with 178 three-point field goals, while Rod Strickland averaged 18.7 points, 9.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and Sabonis provided the team with 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, second-year guard Aaron McKie contributed 10.7 points per game, while Harvey Grant provided with 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Off the bench, James Robinson contributed 8.5 points per game and 102 three-point field goals, and Trent provided with 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. On the defensive side, Buck Williams averaged 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game off the bench, and Chris Dudley contributed 5.1 points, and led the team with 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.^[13]

Sabonis also finished in second place in both Rookie of the Year,^[14][15] and Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[16][15] In the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Trail Blazers lost in five games to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference First Round, suffering a 38-point margin in a 102–64 road loss in Game 5 at the Delta Center; this was the fourth consecutive year that the Trail Blazers lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.^[17][18][19]

Following the season, Strickland, who feuded with head coach P.J. Carlesimo during the regular season,^[20][21][22] was traded along with Grant to the Washington Bullets, whom Grant used to play for,^[23][24][25] while Williams signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks,^[26][27][28] and Robinson was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[29][30]

In addition, this season saw the Trail Blazers fail to sell out a home game, ending their 814-game sellout streak, for the first time since 1977;^[31] this streak would be the longest in NBA history until the Dallas Mavericks broke it during the 2019–20 season.^[32]

Draft picks

Main article: 1995 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	8	Shawn Respert	SG/PG	United States	Michigan State

Roster

1995–96 Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 12 Randolph Childress  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1972–09–21 Wake Forest F 38 Anthony Cook 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–03–19 Arizona F – Bill Curley  (IN) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1972–05–29 Boston College C 24 Chris Dudley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965–02–22 Yale F 44 Harvey Grant 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1965–07–04 Oklahoma G 23 Aaron McKie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1972–10–02 Temple F 3 Clifford Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–12–16 Connecticut G 26 James Robinson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1970–08–31 Alabama G 21 Rumeal Robinson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1966–11–13 Michigan C 11 Arvydas Sabonis 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 279 lb (127 kg) 1964–12–19 Lithuania C 27 Elmore Spencer 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1969–12–06 UNLV G 1 Rod Strickland 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1966–07–11 DePaul F 33 Gary Trent 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1974–09–22 Ohio F 52 Buck Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1960–03–08 Maryland F 10 Dontonio Wingfield 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 256 lb (116 kg) 1974–06–23 Cincinnati

Head coach P. J. Carlesimo Assistant(s) Rick Carlisle Johnny Davis Dick Harter Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (IN) Inactive Injured Roster

Roster Notes

• Power forward Bill Curley was on the injured reserve list due to an ankle injury, missed the entire regular season, and never played for the Trail Blazers.^[30][33]

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
c-Seattle SuperSonics	64	18	.780	–	38–3	26–15	21–3
x-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	11	30–11	23–18	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	20	26–15	18–23	11–13
x-Phoenix Suns	41	41	.500	23	25–16	16–25	9–15
x-Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	25	26–15	13–28	11–13
Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28	23–18	13–28	7–17
Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35	19–22	10–31	7–17

Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c-Seattle SuperSonics *	64	18	.780	–	82
2	y-San Antonio Spurs *	59	23	.720	5	82
3	x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	9	82
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	11	82
5	x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	16	82
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	20	82
7	x-Phoenix Suns	41	41	.500	23	82
8	x-Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	25	82
9	Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28	82
10	Denver Nuggets	35	47	.427	29	82
11	Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35	82
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	26	56	.317	38	82
13	Dallas Mavericks	26	56	.317	38	82
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	15	67	.183	49	82

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1995-96 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	–	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–3
Boston	0–4	–	2–2	0–3	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Charlotte	1–3	2–2	–	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–3	3–0	0–4	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1
Chicago	4–0	3–0	3–1	–	4–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	3–0	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	–	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	1–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Dallas	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	–	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	–	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1
Detroit	2–2	1–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	4–0	0–4	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–2
Golden State	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	–	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	–	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	–	2–0	1–1	3–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	–	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	4–0	–	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Miami	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–3	1–1	0–2	–	3–0	1–1	5–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–3	–	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2
New Jersey	0–4	2–2	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	3–1	1–1	–	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2
New York	1–2	4–0	0–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	–	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	3–1
Orlando	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	–	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Philadelphia	1–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	–	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–3
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	–	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Portland	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	–	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	–	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	–	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Seattle	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	4–0	2–2	–	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1
Toronto	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	–	0–2	1–1	3–1
Utah	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	2–0	–	4–0	1–1
Vancouver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	–	0–2
Washington	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

Playoffs

1996 playoff game log
First round: 2–3 (home: 2–0; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 25 @ Utah L 102–110 Rod Strickland (27) Chris Dudley (10) Rod Strickland (12) Delta Center 19,614 0–1 2 April 27 @ Utah L 90–105 Arvydas Sabonis (26) Arvydas Sabonis (12) Rod Strickland (7) Delta Center 19,911 0–2 3 April 29 Utah W 94–91 (OT) Arvydas Sabonis (27) Arvydas Sabonis (12) Rod Strickland (8) Rose Garden 21,401 1–2 4 May 1 Utah W 98–90 Rod Strickland (27) Arvydas Sabonis (13) Rod Strickland (7) Rose Garden 21,401 2–2 5 May 5 @ Utah L 64–102 Arvydas Sabonis (14) Arvydas Sabonis (8) Rod Strickland (8) Delta Center 19,682 2–3
1996 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Aaron McKie	81	73	27.9	.467	.325	.764	3.8	2.5	1.1	.3	10.7
Chris Dudley	80	61	24.1	.453	.000	.510	9.0	.5	.5	1.3	5.1
Clifford Robinson	78	76	38.2	.423	.378	.664	5.7	2.4	1.1	.9	21.1
Harvey Grant	76	75	31.5	.462	.313	.545	4.8	1.5	.8	.6	9.3
James Robinson	76	5	21.4	.399	.359	.659	2.1	2.0	.4	.2	8.5
Arvydas Sabonis	73	21	23.8	.545	.375	.757	8.1	1.8	.9	1.1	14.5
Buck Williams	70	10	23.9	.500	.667	.668	5.8	.6	.6	.7	7.3
Gary Trent	69	10	17.7	.513	.000	.553	3.4	.7	.4	.2	7.5
Rod Strickland	67	63	37.7	.460	.342	.652	4.4	9.6	1.4	.2	18.7
Dontonio Wingfield	44	2	11.1	.382	.302	.765	2.4	.6	.5	.1	3.8
Rumeal Robinson	43	14	16.6	.416	.380	.647	1.8	3.3	.6	.1	5.7
Randolph Childress	28	0	8.9	.316	.277	.815	.7	1.1	.3	.0	3.0
Anthony Cook	11	0	5.5	.438	.000	.250	1.1	.2	.0	.1	1.4
Elmore Spencer†	11	0	3.4	.417		.667	.8	.1	.0	.2	1.3
Reggie Slater†	4	0	5.0	.600			.8	.0	.3	.5	1.5

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Rod Strickland	5	5	40.4	.440	.500	.639	6.2	8.4	1.0	.0	20.6
Clifford Robinson	5	5	36.2	.344	.261	.757	3.6	1.6	1.4	1.0	15.2
Arvydas Sabonis	5	5	35.4	.432	.556	.717	10.2	1.8	.8	.6	23.6
Harvey Grant	5	5	32.8	.342	.143	.000	4.0	.8	.0	.4	5.4
Aaron McKie	5	4	26.8	.367	.250	.778	3.6	1.8	1.2	.4	6.2
Buck Williams	5	1	26.6	.391	.500	.714	5.0	.2	.2	.8	4.8
Chris Dudley	5	0	18.4	.385		.667	5.4	.2	.4	.4	2.8
Dontonio Wingfield	5	0	12.4	.381	.600	.333	2.8	.8	.0	.0	4.8
Rumeal Robinson	5	0	8.6	.421	.444	.250	.4	.6	.6	.0	4.2
James Robinson	2	0	13.0	.300	.333		.5	1.5	.5	.5	4.0
Gary Trent	2	0	5.0	.250			.5	.0	.5	.0	1.0
Elmore Spencer	1	0	1.0			.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Trail Blazers only.

Player Statistics Citation:^[13]

Awards and honors

• Arvydas Sabonis, All-NBA Rookie First Team

Transactions

Free agents

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Jerome Kersey	Expansion Draft June 24, 1995	Toronto Raptors