The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

 The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the Memorial Coliseum, before moving to the Rose Garden Arena in 1995. Based in Portland throughout its existence, the franchise entered the league in 1970, and is the only major league franchise in Oregon until 2011 when the Portland Timbers join the MLS. The franchise has also enjoyed a strong following; from 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American professional sports.
The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA

Championship once, in 1977. The other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992. The team has qualified for the playoffs in 26 seasons of their 39-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003.Four Hall of Fame players have played for the Trail Blazers (Lenny Wilkens, Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, and Drazen Petrovic),as well as one player (Scottie Pippen) who was recognized as one of the league’s 50 greatest but who is not yet eligible for the Hall. Bill Walton is the franchise’s most decorated player; he was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1977, and the regular season MVP the following year. Three Blazer rookies (Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, and Brandon Roy) have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Two Hall of Fame coaches, Lenny Wilkens and Jack Ramsay, have patrolled the sidelines for the Blazers, and two others, Mike Schuler and Mike Dunleavy, have won the NBA Coach of the Year award with the team.
Conference Western Conference
Division Northwest Division
Founded 1970
History Portland Trail Blazers
1970–present
Arena Rose Garden
City Portland, Oregon
Team colors Black, Red, Silver, White                 
Owner(s) Paul Allen
General manager Kevin Pritchard
Head coach Nate McMillan
D-League affiliate Idaho Stampede
Championships 1 (1977)
Conference titles 3 (1977, 1990, 1992)
Division titles 4 (1978, 1991, 1992, 1999)
Official website blazers.com

 
Name and branding
The team has been known as the “Trail Blazers” throughout its history. Two weeks after being awarded an expansion franchise in 1970, team management held a contest to select the team’s name. More than 10,000 entries were submitted. The most popular choice was “Pioneers,” but that name was excluded from consideration as it was already used by sports teams at Portland’s Lewis and Clark College. The name “Trail Blazers” received 172 entries, and was selected as the name.

The team’s colors are red, white, black, and silver, which was added in 2002. The team’s “pinwheel” logo, originally designed by the cousin of former Blazer executive Harry Glickman, is a graphic interpretation of two five-on-five basketball teams lined up against each other. One side of the pinwheel is rendered in red; the other side is rendered in a monochrome color (black, silver, or white). The logo has gone from a vertical alignment to a slanted one over time.
Portland’s home uniforms are white in color, with red, black, and silver accents; the primary road uniform is black, with red, white, and sliver accents. The alternate road uniform is red with white, silver, and black accents. From 1970 to the 1977–78 season, the team wore red road uniforms, switching to black in that year. The team again wore red during the 1984–85 season, switching back to black road jerseys after that. In 2002, the team reintroduced red jerseys.
The team’s mascot is Blaze the Trail Cat, a two-tone silver-colored mountain lion, which has been the team’s official mascot since 2002. Prior to Blaze’s debut, the Trail Blazers never had any official mascot. A popular unofficial mascot was the late Bill “The Beerman” Scott, a Seattle beer vendor/cheerleader who worked for numerous pro teams, including the Trail Blazers, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Seattle Mariners. Scott worked for the Trail Blazers from 1981 through 1985.
History
Main article: History of the Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team, playing in the Memorial Coliseum. The team was led in its early years by Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks, and failed to qualify for the NBA postseason in their first six years of existence. During that span, the team had three head coaches (including future hall-of-famer Lenny Wilkens); team executive Stu Inman also served as coach.[14] The team won the first pick in the NBA Draft twice during that span. In 1972 the team drafted LaRue Martin with the number one pick, and in 1974 the team selected Bill Walton from UCLA.
Championship
Main article: 1977 NBA Finals
In 1976, the ABA-NBA merger saw those two rival leagues join forces. Four ABA teams joined the NBA; the remaining teams were dissolved and their players distributed among the remaining NBA squads in a dispersal draft. The Trail Blazers selected Maurice Lucas in the dispersal draft. That summer they also hired Jack Ramsay as head coach. The two moves, coupled with the emergence of Walton as a premier NBA big man, led the team to its first winning record (49–33), its first playoff appearance, and its only NBA Championship in 1977. Starting on April 5 of that year, the team began a sellout streak of 814 straight games—the longest in sports history—which did not end until 1995, after the team moved into a larger facility.
The team started the next season with a 50–10 record, and many[16] predicted a dynasty in Portland, but it was not to be. Walton suffered a foot injury that ended his season and would plague his entire career, and the team struggled to a 58–24 record, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1978 conference semifinals. That summer, Bill Walton demanded to be traded to a team of his choice (Clippers, Knicks, Warriors, or 76ers) because he was unhappy with his medical treatment in Portland. Walton was never traded, and he held out the entire 1978–79 season and left the team as a free agent thereafter. Maurice Lucas left the team in 1980, and the Blazers “dynasty” was finished.

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