Portland Trail Blazers: Counting down the 5 best Rip City teams of all-time
Rob Ryan
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The Rose City has been witness to 52 seasons of Portland Trail Blazers basketball. These are the five best teams to grace the court in Portland.
Welcome to the 5 best Portland Trail Blazers teams of all time. I’m going to mix up this list a little bit. Otherwise, there would be multiple versions of the Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton-led Blazer teams taking up most of the top 5 spots. Hopefully, that is not much of a spoiler, but who on here would really expect to NOT have those teams on this list
#5 – 2014-15 (Head Coach – Terry Stotts, 51-31 record)
The 2013-14 Portland Trail Blazers managed to get out of the first round, but this was the better team. Before the Wesley Matthews injury, the team was outpacing the previous year’s record. They still ended the regular season with a 51-31 record despite a 10-11 finish after the Matthews and LaMarcus Aldridge injuries.
With the same core starting five of Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Robin Lopez, the Blazers also solidified their bench with the additions of Steve Blake, ” The Birdman” Chris Kaman, and Aaron Afflalo. After Matthews tore his Achillies Tendon, Afflalo was thrust into a starting role.
Lack of chemistry down the stretch along with LaMarcus playing through injury, led to a disappointing 4-1 exit at the hands of Memphis. If this team had stayed healthy, this would have been Lillard’s best shot at a title.
On December 23rd, 2014, @Dame_Lillard tapped his wrist for the first time… Now, the #Blazers return back to where it all began, Oklahoma City.
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 18, 2019
A look back at the now iconic wrist tap and how it has taken on a life of its own.#ripcity pic.twitter.com/ATgjr88Iom
#4 – 2008-09 (Nate McMillan, 54-28)
This team was so young and yet so scary. The Trail Blazers were the youngest team in the league, yet they played with the half-court discipline of the San Antonio Spurs. Despite missing starting small forward Martell Webster for the entire season and starting center Greg Oden for 21 games.
Even with the injuries, they still managed to finish in a three-way tie for the second-best record in the Western Conference at 54-28. Tiebreakers, however, forced them into the 4th seed.
This team had size, defense, and a highly efficient ball-handling shooting guard in Brandon Roy. The Aldridge and Oden tandem was already becoming a nightmare down low for opposing defenses.
Staying with the starters, Portland had the high-flying Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw capable of creating their own shots, along with former starter Joel Przybilla acting as the enforcer off the bench.
Unfortunately, they ran into a Houston Rockets team capable of countering Portland’s bigs while also throwing all-defensive level wings at Roy throughout the series.