Early Origins of the Portland Trail Blazers before Greg Oden
The Portland Trail Blazers joined the National Basketball Association in 1970. It was a pretty pricey venture since it cost them a hefty $3.7 million for the privilege. They only beat their first season’s record in 1974 however, after Bill Walton was drafted. Two years later they did quite well too, going 49-33 with Ramsay as their leader. This also marked the first time they made the playoffs. The Trail Blazers then defeated a few teams: Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers. That seemed to be their run for a while however, since the team finished the season with a relatively poor 58-24 record.
In the 1980s the Trail Blazers made the playoffs every year (except 1981-82) and even made it past the first round on many different occasions. The early 1990s saw pretty good times for the team too. They bulldozed through the Western Conference playoffs on their way to a showdown with the Chicago Bulls in the Finals but lost it 4-2.
Later on that decade things started really looking up again, at the end of the 1998-99 season, finishing with the second best record in the Western Conference, enjoying a 35–15 record. Following its financial difficulties in 2003, after Bob Whitsitt resigned, the team had to declare bankruptcy. Ohio State center Greg Oden joined the team in 2007, a year that really signaled a rebirth for the team, when they had a 13-game winning streak.
