Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are a National Basketball Association team based in Portland, Oregon.

Founded: 1970

Home Arena: Rose Garden Arena

Uniform colors: Red and black

Logo design: Five parallel red lines slant right and upward from the bottom and curve left to meet five parallel white lines that curve downward and leftward from the top. It is supposed to represent trails being blazed.

NBA Championships: 1977

Owner: Paul Allen

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Early Franchise history

On February 6, 1970, the NBA board of governors granted the Blazers franchise, after the Blazers paid $3.7 million to join the league. In that year, the Buffalo Braves and the Cleveland Cavaliers also joined the league. The team was based around Geoff Petrie, a first round draft choice, and the 6'10" (2.08 m) tall LeRoy Ellis, who they picked up in the expansion draft. Their first season the Blazers finished with a 29-53 record, which although generally poor was the best out of the three new teams to the NBA. The next year, the Blazers won only 18 games, but rookie Sidney Wicks was named Rookie of the Year of the NBA. The Blazers did not beat their first season's record until they drafted Bill Walton from UCLA.

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Recent franchise history

After nine years as president and general manager, Bob Whitsitt announced his departure from the Trail Blazers on May 7, 2003, stating that he was retiring to focus his attention on the Seattle Seahawks NFL team. However, he had been the subject of continuous criticism from the team's fans and both the local and national press for team performance on the court, as well as player legal troubles off the court. The Blazers announced Steve Patterson as team president June 18, 2003 and announced that John Nash would become general manager on July 15.

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