List of Portland Trail Blazers seasons

The Portland Trail Blazers are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.^[a] The team played its home games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to the Moda Center in 1995 (called the Rose Garden until 2013).^[3][4] 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.^[5][6][7] The team's rallying cry is "Rip City", coined by play-by-play announcer Bill Schonely during their inaugural season.^[8]

The Portland Trail Blazers have played their home games at the Moda Center since it opened in 1995.

Harry Glickman became interested in creating an NBA team in his hometown of Portland when Memorial Coliseum opened in 1960, but the NBA commissioner at the time, Maurice Podoloff, refused on the grounds that Portland was too far west. However, Podoloff's successor, J. Walter Kennedy, expanded the league into the West throughout the 1960s. On February 6, 1970, the NBA board of governors granted Portland – along with Buffalo, New York, and Cleveland – the rights to a franchise in return for a US$3.7 million admission.^[5][9] To name the team, management held a contest and received more than 10,000 entries. The name "Trail Blazers" was suggested by 172 people, and was ultimately selected by a drawing on March 13. Blake Byrne, the general sales manager of KPTV at the time, was the winner of the drawing and received two season tickets for the inaugural season. Derived from the trail blazing activity by explorers making paths through forests, Glickman considered it a name that could "reflect both the ruggedness of the Pacific Northwest and the start of a major league era in our state".^[10]

Bill Walton played for the Blazers from 1974 to 1979.

The Blazers selected the first players to join their team in the 1970 NBA draft. The team chose Geoff Petrie eighth overall, making him the first draft pick in franchise history. A couple months later, they took part in the 1970 NBA expansion draft to further fill out their inaugural roster. The Blazers played their first game on October 16, 1970 against fellow expansion team the Cleveland Cavaliers, which they won 115–112. The team went on to have a season record of 29 wins and 53 losses, with Petrie winning co-Rookie of the Year, sharing the honor with Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics.^[11][12] The Blazers had the third worst record in the NBA that season, only ahead of the Cavaliers and the season's other expansion team, the Buffalo Braves.^[13] In their second season, they had just 18 wins to go along with 64 losses which still remains as the fewest wins in a season in franchise history.^[14] Led by head coach Jack Ramsay, the Blazers had their first winning record during the 1976–77 season, in which they made the playoffs for the first time, and went on to win the 1977 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers 4–2.^[15][16] They were the second team in NBA history to come back from an 0—2 deficit in the Finals to win the series, and the first team to win four straight games after losing the first two.^[15] Bill Walton was named the Finals MVP. The following season, Walton was named the NBA MVP after leading the Blazers to the best record in the league with 58 wins and 24 losses.^[17][18] The team was unable to defend their title, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics in the conference semifinals.^[18][19]

In the 1980s, the Blazers made the playoffs every season except 1981–82. In the 1983 draft, the team selected Clyde Drexler 14th overall, who would greatly contribute to the team's playoff streak, becoming one of the best players in franchise history.^[20] After multiple consecutive seasons of first round losses in the playoffs, the Ramsay era ended after the 1986 season, and Ramsay was replaced by Mike Schuler. Schuler only lasted two and a half years before he was fired during the 1988–89 season and replaced by former Blazers player Rick Adelman.^[21][22] In his first full season, Adelman led the Blazers to the 1990 NBA Finals, but the team lost 4–1 to the Detroit Pistons.^[23] Adelman led the team to a franchise record 63 wins in the 1990–91 season, but the team was unable to return to the Finals, and were defeated 4–2 by the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.^[24][25] However, the Blazers made their third Finals appearance in franchise history in 1992, but were defeated 4–2 by the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan.^[26] The next six seasons saw the Blazers lose in the first round of the playoffs. In his second season in charge, Mike Dunleavy was named Coach of the Year.^[27] Dunleavey led the team to back-to-back conference finals appearances in 1999 and 2000, with the team getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, and then falling one game short of the 2000 NBA Finals, losing to the Lakers 4–3.^[28][29]

Damian Lillard played for the Blazers from 2012 to 2023.

The Blazers went on a stretch of either missing the playoffs or losing in the first round for the rest of the 2000s through the mid-2010s. Damian Lillard was selected in the 2012 NBA draft, and won Rookie of the Year.^[30] In the 2014 playoffs, Lillard lead the Blazers to their first playoff series win in 14 years with a game-winning shot at the buzzer in game 6 against the Houston Rockets, winning the series 4–2. The team ultimately lost in the next round 4–1 to the Spurs.^[31][32] The next seven seasons saw the team make the playoffs. In the first round of the 2019 playoffs, Lillard had another series-winning buzzer beater, this time against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team made it to the conference finals, but were swept by the Golden State Warriors.^[33][34] The following two seasons saw the Blazers make the playoffs, but lose in the first round. Chauncey Billups was hired as the head coach before the 2021–22 season, with the team having a losing record each season since.^[35][36]

In their 55 seasons (through the 2024–25 season) as an NBA franchise, the Blazers have an all-time regular season record of 2,328 wins and 2,116 losses; in the playoffs, they have 119 wins and 155 losses. The team has had 32 winning seasons, 20 losing seasons, and 3 seasons with a 41–41 record. The Blazers have reached the postseason 37 times, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003.^[14][19][37] The franchise's all-time points leader is Damian Lillard with 19,376; he also holds the team record for the most three-point field goals made with 2,387.^[38]

Table key

Key to colors Table key † NBA champions * Conference champions ^ Division champions ¤ Playoff berth × Play-in berth

Key to abbreviations Finish – final position in league or division standings W – number of regular season wins L – number of regular season losses Pct. – winning percentage GB – games behind first-place team in division

Key to awards AMVP – All-Star Game Most Valuable Player COY – Coach of the Year CPOY – Comeback Player of the Year DPOY – Defensive Player of the Year EOY – Executive of the Year FMVP – Finals Most Valuable Player JWKC – J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award MIP – Most Improved Player ROY – Rookie of the Year SMOY – Sixth Man of the Year SPOR – Sportsmanship Award

Seasons

Portland Trail Blazers record by season, 1970–2025

Season	Conference	Finish	Division	Finish	Regular season[24]				Playoff results[39]	Awards	Head coach[40]	Ref.
					W	L	Pct.	GB
1970–71	Western	9th	Pacific	5th	29	53	.354	19	Did not qualify	Geoff Petrie (ROY)[41]	Rolland Todd	[13]
1971–72	Western	9th	Pacific	5th	18	64	.220	51	Did not qualify	Sidney Wicks (ROY)[41]	Rolland Todd (12–44) Stu Inman (6–20)	[42]
1972–73	Western	9th	Pacific	5th	21	61	.256	39	Did not qualify	—	Jack McCloskey	[43]
1973–74	Western	9th	Pacific	5th	27	55	.329	20	Did not qualify	—		[44]
1974–75	Western	6th	Pacific	3rd	38	44	.463	10	Did not qualify	—	Lenny Wilkens	[45]
1975–76	Western	7th	Pacific	5th	37	45	.451	22	Did not qualify	—		[46]
1976–77	Western *	3rd ¤	Pacific	2nd	49	33	.598	4	Won first round vs. Bulls, 2–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Nuggets, 4–2 Won conference finals vs. Lakers, 4–0 Won NBA Finals vs. 76ers, 4–2 †	Bill Walton (FMVP)[47]	Jack Ramsay	[48]
1977–78	Western	1st ¤	Pacific	1st ^	58	24	.707	—	Lost conference semifinals vs. SuperSonics, 4–2	Bill Walton (MVP)[49]		[18]
1978–79	Western	6th ¤	Pacific	4th	45	37	.549	7	Lost first round vs. Suns, 2–1	—		[50]
1979–80	Western	6th ¤	Pacific	4th	38	44	.463	22	Lost first round vs. SuperSonics, 2–1	—		[51]
1980–81	Western	4th ¤	Pacific	3rd	45	37	.549	12	Lost first round vs. Kings, 2–1	—		[52]
1981–82	Western	8th	Pacific	5th	42	40	.512	15	Did not qualify	—		[53]
1982–83	Western	5th ¤	Pacific	4th	46	36	.561	12	Won first round vs. SuperSonics, 2–0 Lost conference semifinals vs. Lakers, 4–1	—		[54]
1983–84	Western	3rd ¤	Pacific	2nd	48	34	.585	6	Lost first round vs. Suns, 3–2	—		[55]
1984–85	Western	5th ¤	Pacific	2nd	42	40	.512	20	Won first round vs. Mavericks, 3–1 Lost conference semifinals vs. Lakers, 4–1	—		[56]
1985–86	Western	6th ¤	Pacific	2nd	40	42	.488	22	Lost first round vs. Nuggets, 3–1	—		[57]
1986–87	Western	3rd ¤	Pacific	2nd	49	33	.598	16	Lost first round vs. Rockets, 3–1	Mike Schuler (COY)[21]	Mike Schuler	[58]
1987–88	Western	4th ¤	Pacific	2nd	53	29	.646	9	Lost first round vs. Jazz, 3–1	Kevin Duckworth (MIP)[59]		[60]
1988–89	Western	8th ¤	Pacific	5th	39	43	.476	18	Lost first round vs. Lakers, 3–0	—	Mike Schuler (25–22) Rick Adelman (14–21)	[61]
1989–90	Western *	3rd ¤	Pacific	2nd	59	23	.720	4	Won first round vs. Mavericks, 3–0 Won conference semifinals vs. Spurs, 4–3 Won conference finals vs. Suns, 4–2 Lost NBA Finals vs. Pistons, 4–1 *	—	Rick Adelman	[23]
1990–91	Western	1st ¤	Pacific	1st ^	63	19	.768	—	Won first round vs. SuperSonics, 3–2 Won conference semifinals vs. Jazz, 4–1 Lost conference finals vs. Lakers, 4–2	Bucky Buckwalter (EOY)[62]		[25]
1991–92	Western *	1st ¤	Pacific	1st ^	57	25	.695	—	Won first round vs. Lakers, 3–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Suns, 4–1 Won conference finals vs. Jazz, 4–2 Lost NBA Finals vs. Bulls, 4–2 *	—		[26]
1992–93	Western	4th ¤	Pacific	3rd	51	31	.622	11	Lost first round vs. Spurs, 3–1	Terry Porter (JWKC)[63] Clifford Robinson (SMOY)[64]		[65]
1993–94	Western	7th ¤	Pacific	4th	47	35	.573	16	Lost first round vs. Rockets, 3–1	—		[66]
1994–95	Western	7th ¤	Pacific	4th	44	38	.537	15	Lost first round vs. Suns, 3–0	—	P. J. Carlesimo	[67]
1995–96	Western	6th ¤	Pacific	3rd	44	38	.537	20	Lost first round vs. Jazz, 3–2	Chris Dudley (JWKC)[68]		[69]
1996–97	Western	5th ¤	Pacific	3rd	49	33	.598	8	Lost first round vs. Lakers, 3–1	—		[70]
1997–98	Western	6th ¤	Pacific	4th	46	36	.561	15	Lost first round vs. Lakers, 3–1	—	Mike Dunleavy	[71]
1998–99[b]	Western	2nd ¤	Pacific	1st ^	35	15	.700	—	Won first round vs. Suns, 3–0 Won conference semifinals vs. Jazz, 4–2 Lost conference finals vs. Spurs, 4–0	Mike Dunleavy (COY)[27] Brian Grant (JWKC)[73]		[28]
1999–2000	Western	3rd ¤	Pacific	2nd	59	23	.720	8	Won first round vs. Timberwolves, 3–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Jazz, 4–1 Lost conference finals vs. Lakers, 4–3	—		[29]
2000–01	Western	7th ¤	Pacific	4th	50	32	.610	6	Lost first round vs. Lakers, 3–0	—		[74]
2001–02	Western	6th ¤	Pacific	3rd	49	33	.598	12	Lost first round vs. Lakers, 3–0	—	Maurice Cheeks	[75]
2002–03	Western	6th ¤	Pacific	3rd	50	32	.610	9	Lost first round vs. Mavericks, 4–3	—		[76]
2003–04	Western	10th	Pacific	3rd	41	41	.500	15	Did not qualify	Zach Randolph (MIP)[77]		[78]
2004–05	Western	13th	Northwest	4th	27	55	.329	25	Did not qualify	—	Maurice Cheeks (22–33) Kevin Pritchard (5–22)	[79]
2005–06	Western	15th	Northwest	5th	21	61	.256	23	Did not qualify	—	Nate McMillan	[80]
2006–07	Western	12th	Northwest	3rd	32	50	.390	19	Did not qualify	Brandon Roy (ROY)[81]		[82]
2007–08	Western	10th	Northwest	3rd	41	41	.500	13	Did not qualify	—		[83]
2008–09	Western	4th ¤	Northwest	2nd[c]	54	28	.659	—	Lost first round vs. Rockets, 4–2	—		[85]
2009–10	Western	6th ¤	Northwest	3rd	50	32	.610	3	Lost first round vs. Suns, 4–2	—		[86]
2010–11	Western	6th ¤	Northwest	3rd	48	34	.585	7	Lost first round vs. Mavericks, 4–2	—		[87]
2011–12[d]	Western	11th	Northwest	4th	28	38	.424	19	Did not qualify	—	Nate McMillan (20–23) Kaleb Canales (8–15)	[89]
2012–13	Western	11th	Northwest	4th	33	49	.402	27	Did not qualify	Damian Lillard (ROY)[30]	Terry Stotts	[90]
2013–14	Western	5th ¤	Northwest	2nd	54	28	.659	5	Won first round vs. Rockets, 4–2 Lost conference semifinals vs. Spurs, 4–1	—		[32]
2014–15	Western	4th ¤	Northwest	1st ^	51	31	.622	—	Lost first round vs. Grizzlies, 4–1	—		[91]
2015–16	Western	5th ¤	Northwest	2nd	44	38	.537	11	Won first round vs. Clippers, 4–2 Lost conference semifinals vs. Warriors, 4–1	CJ McCollum (MIP)[92]		[93]
2016–17	Western	8th ¤	Northwest	3rd	41	41	.500	10	Lost first round vs. Warriors, 4–0	—		[94]
2017–18	Western	3rd ¤	Northwest	1st ^	49	33	.598	—	Lost first round vs. Pelicans, 4–0	—		[95]
2018–19	Western	3rd ¤	Northwest	2nd	53	29	.646	1	Won first round vs. Thunder, 4–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Nuggets, 4–3 Lost conference finals vs. Warriors, 4–0	Damian Lillard (JWKC)[96]		[34]
2019–20[e]	Western	8th ¤	Northwest	4th	35	39	.473	11.5	Lost first round vs. Lakers, 4–1	—		[99]
2020–21[f]	Western	6th ¤	Northwest	3rd	42	30	.583	10	Lost first round vs. Nuggets, 4–2	—		[101]
2021–22	Western	13th	Northwest	4th	27	55	.329	22	Did not qualify	—	Chauncey Billups	[102]
2022–23	Western	13th	Northwest	5th	33	49	.402	20	Did not qualify	—		[103]
2023–24	Western	15th	Northwest	5th	21	61	.256	36	Did not qualify	—		[104]
2024–25	Western	12th	Northwest	4th	36	46	.439	32	Did not qualify	—		[105]
All-time regular season record					2,328	2,116	.524	1970–2025
All-time postseason record					119	155	.434	Playoff series record: 22–36
All-time regular & postseason record					2,447	2,271	.519	1970–2025
1 NBA championship, 3 conference titles, 6 division titles

See also

• History of the Portland Trail Blazers

Notes

1. The Blazers were members of the Pacific Division from their initial season until after the 2003–04 season, when the Northwest Division was formed as a result of conference realignment with the Charlotte Bobcats joining as the NBA's 30th franchise.^[1][2]
2. Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, and all 29 teams played a shortened 50 game regular season schedule.^[72]
3. The Blazers tied with the Denver Nuggets for first place in the division, but tiebreakers from the season resulted in the Nuggets being declared the division champion for playoff seeding purposes.^[84]
4. Due to a lockout, the season did not start until December 25, 2011 and all 30 teams played a shortened 66-game regular season schedule.^[88]
5. The season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11 after Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive. The season resumed in July 2020 with the 16 teams who were in playoff position when the season was suspended and the six teams that were six games or fewer behind the eighth seed taking part in the NBA Bubble at Walt Disney World.^[97][98]
6. The season was shortened to 72 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[100]