Ranking the 6 Portland Trail Blazers on NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team
4. Scottie Pippen
NBA Career: 17 seasons. Years in Portland: 4 (1999-2000 – 2002-03).
Like Williams and Anthony, Scottie Pippen came to the Portland Trail Blazers in his mid-30s. Pippen certainly wasn’t the same player he was when winning six championships in Chicago. That doesn’t mean Pippen didn’t contribute. He averaged 11.4 points and 5.3 boards per contest. Those numbers increased to 13.5 and 6.5 in the postseason. Pippen was on the team that lost to Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 Western Conference Finals.
Accolades
- NBA Second-Team All-Defense – 1999-2000.
3 Bill Walton
NBA Career: 10 seasons. Years in Portland: 4 (1974-75 – 1977-78).
Bill Walton is a Hall of Famer, and his NBA career wasn’t anywhere near where it could have been. Part of the great UCLA college basketball dynasty, the Portland Trail Blazers drafted Walton with the first overall pick in 1974. He spent his first four seasons in Portland and is the only player on this list that played on the Trail Blazers 1977 Championship team.
Before problems with his feet took several years from his career, Walton was a force of nature on the floor. He averaged 17.1 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, and 4.4 assists per game with Portland. After sitting out the 1978-79 season due to injury, Big Red signed with the Clippers as a free agent. At that time, free agents required compensation. One of the players Portland got back was Kermit Washington.
Accolades
- NBA MVP – 1996-97.
- NBA Finals MVP – 1997.
- 2-time All-Star (1977, 1978).
- NBA First-Team All-Defense – 1976-77.
- NBA second-team All-Defense – 1977-78.
- Led NBA in Rebounds (14.4) and Blocks (3.8) per game – 1996-97.