The 1979–80 season was the 10th season of the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). The Blazers lost seven more games than the previous season, ending with a record of 38–44, their first losing record since the 1975–76 season; despite that, they qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Blazers were ousted from the

1980 NBA Playoffs The 1980 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1979–80 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelp ...

after losing their best-of-three series to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

, two games to one. The Blazers' season was documented in ''

The Breaks of the Game ''The Breaks of the Game'' is a 1981 sports book written by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Halberstam about the Portland Trail Blazers' 1979–1980 season. The Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team which plays in the National B ...

'', a book published in 1981 by journalist

David Halberstam David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and later ...

. ''The Breaks of the Game'' was a ''New York Times'' best-seller and is considered one of the greatest sports books ever written.

Draft picks

Note: This is not a complete list; only the first two rounds are covered, as well as any other picks by the franchise who played at least one NBA game.

Roster

Regular season

Veterans Memorial Coliseum (2) (Portland)

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 2 , @

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

L 110–120
,

Ron Brewer Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

(24) ,

Kermit Washington Kermit Alan Washington (born September 17, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. Washington was not a highly-cove ...

(7) ,

(12) ,

Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...

26,412 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , April 4 ,

W 105–95 (OT)
,

Natt Natt is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Calvin Natt (born 1957), American basketball player in the National Basketball Association *Chris Natt (born 1952), Australian politician and Australian rules footballer *Kenny ...

, R. Brewer (27) ,

Jim Brewer Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

(12) ,

T. R. Dunn Theodore Roosevelt Dunn (born February 1, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player who used to be an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A star at the University of Alabama, Du ...

(4) , Memorial Coliseum
12,666 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April 6 , @

L 86–103
,

Billy Ray Bates Billy Ray Bates (born May 31, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates played shooting guard at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University. Bates played four seasons in the National Basketball A ...

(26) ,

Tom Owens Thomas William Owens (born June 28, 1949) is an American retired professional basketball player. Early life A 6'9" center from the Bronx, New York, Owens played for LaSalle Academy and the University of South Carolina. Career Owens playe ...

(16) ,

(3) ,

23,546 , 1–2 , -

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and honors

Calvin Natt Calvin Leon Natt (born January 8, 1957) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6'6" (1.98 m) forward, Natt played at Northeast Louisiana University under coach Lenny Fant. After college, he played 11 NBA seasons ( 1979–199 ...

, All-NBA Rookie Team *

, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979-80 Portland Trail Blazers season Portland Trail Blazers seasons Portland Trail Blazers 1979 Portland Trail Blazers 1979

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...