Portland Trail Blazers draft history

The Portland Trail 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 franchise was founded in the 1970–71 NBA season. The team made their first draft pick in the 1970 NBA draft and have selected 279 players total. The franchise won its only NBA championship in 1977, when the team was led by their 1974 first overall pick, Bill Walton, as well as multiple other former draft picks who went on to have their numbers retired by Portland. Many of the players selected have gone on to have accomplished careers while playing for the team. Clyde Drexler and Damian Lillard hold multiple Blazer records and are first in many stats. Along with Walton and Drexler, two other draft picks, Dražen Petrović and Arvydas Sabonis, went on to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after their playing careers ended, with Petrović being inducted posthumously.

Portland has held the first overall pick four times, selecting Walton in 1974, LaRue Martin in 1972, Mychal Thompson in 1978, and Greg Oden in 2007. Three players drafted by Portland won the Rookie of the Year award. Geoff Petrie, the franchise's first ever draft pick, was named co-Rookie of the Year with Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics in 1971. Sidney Wicks won the award the next season after being selected second overall in the 1971 NBA draft, and Lillard won in 2013 after being drafted sixth overall in the 2012 NBA draft.

History

The Trail Blazers first participated in the 1970 NBA draft on March 23, before their inaugural NBA season. Before each draft, an NBA draft lottery determines the first round selection order for the teams that missed the playoffs during the prior season. Teams can also trade their picks, which means that teams may have more or less than two picks in some drafts, although they must have at least one first-round pick every other year. Until 1968, there were a total of 21 rounds in the draft. The number of rounds shrank gradually over the following years, until 1989 when the current format began. The first pick in the Trail Blazers' history was Geoff Petrie, a guard from Princeton University who was selected 8th overall in 1970. Petrie played for the Blazers for his entire career, playing from 1970–. He was a 2x NBA All-Star and was named co-rookie of the year with Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics in 1971. Petrie averaged 21.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 446 games.

First overall picks

The Blazers have had the first pick in the NBA draft four times in franchise history. In 1972, they chose center LaRue Martin from Loyola Chicago. The team then chose UCLA center Bill Walton in 1974, forward/center Mychal Thompson from Minnesota in 1978 after a trade the day before the draft with the Indiana Pacers to acquire the pick, and most recently Greg Oden center from Ohio State in 2007.

Martin spent his entire career in Portland, playing from 1972–1976, and averaged 5.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 271 games. Walton played for the Blazers from –, helping lead the team to the only championship in franchise history in 1977. The team defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4–2 and Walton was named as the Finals MVP after averaging 18.5 points, 19.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 3.7 blocks during the series. Walton went on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award the following season. Other accomplishments Walton achieved while in Portland are being a 2x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team, including First Team in 1978, and 2x All-Defensive First Team. He also led the league in rebounding (14.37 per game) and blocks (3.5 per game) in 1977. In his Blazers career, Walton averaged 17.1 points, a franchise record 13.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and a franchise co-leader 2.6 blocks in 209 games. Thompson played in Portland from 1978–, where he was named NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1979. He averaged 16.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 551 games. He is the franchise leader for total blocks (768) and second in defensive rebounds (3,389). Oden had a lot of hype coming out of Ohio State, with a strong debate over who the Blazers should choose between him and Kevin Durant. Oden was in Portland from –, only playing in 82 games total due to an injury riddled career that began before he could even play an NBA game, as he had season-ending microfracture surgery before his rookie season began. Oden averaged 9.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.

Franchise stat leaders

Clyde Drexler is one of the most accomplished players in franchise history. The Blazers drafted Drexler #14 overall in 1983 out of Houston. Drexler was an eight time All-Star in Portland, while also being named to an All-NBA Team four times, including First Team in 1992. Drexler scored 18,040 points, which ranks second in franchise history, only behind Damian Lillard. He is the franchise leader for games played (867), minutes played (29,496), two-point field goals made (6,425), total field goals (6,889), offensive rebounds (2,227), steals (1,795), steals per game (2.1), and triple doubles (18). Along with points, Drexler is second for free throws made (3,798) and total rebounds (5,339). As a Blazer, Drexler averaged 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.1 steals in 867 games.

Lillard was drafted 6th overall in 2012 after a trade deadline deal with the New Jersey Nets the previous March. Lillard became just the fourth player to unanimously win the Rookie of the Year Award. He was a 7x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, including First Team in 2018, NBA Three-Point Contest in 2023, and NBA Teammate of the Year in 2021. Lillard became the team's all-time scoring leader on December 19, 2022, passing Drexler. Later that season, Lillard broke his own franchise record for points in a game, scoring 71 points and making 13 three pointers in a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets. At the age of 32, Lillard became the oldest player in NBA history to score 70 points in a game, and the only player age 30 or older to accomplish the feat. Along with being the franchise scoring leader, Lillard is also the record holder for points per game (25.2), free throw percentage (.895), three point field goals (2,387), and made free throws (4,427). He is second for minutes played (27,942), field goals made (6,281), and assists (5,151). Lillard averaged the aforementioned franchise high 25.2 points, along with 4.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 3.1 three pointers made in 769 games.

NBA anniversary teams and Olympians

Walton and Drexler were both named to the NBA 50th and 75th anniversary teams in 1996 and 2021 respectively, while Lillard was named to the 75th anniversary team. During their time with the Blazers, both Drexler and Lillard won Olympic gold medals. Drexler won at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as a member of the Dream Team, and Lillard won at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Arvydas Sabonis won one gold and two bronze medals, winning one of the bronzes as a member of the Blazers while representing Lithuania in 1996 in Atlanta.

Retired numbers

Nine draft picks have had their number retired by the Blazers, most of whom were part of the 1977 championship team: Dave Twardzik (#13), Lionel Hollins (#14), Larry Steele (#15), Drexler (#22), Bob Gross (#30), Terry Porter (#30), Walton (#32), Lloyd Neal (#36), and Petrie (#45). Twardzik was drafted 20th overall in 1972, but played for the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association (ABA) before he joined the Blazers. He played with the team from 1976– and was part of the championship team in 1977. He averaged 9.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 280 games. Hollins was drafted 6th overall in 1975 and played in Portland from –1980, winning the championship with the team. He was an All-Star once and a member of the NBA All-Defensive Team twice, including First Team in 1978. Hollins averaged 13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.9 steals in 315 games. Steele was another member of the championship team after being drafted 31st overall in 1971, playing from –1979. He led the NBA in steals in 1974, playing in a total of 610 games, averaging 8.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 assists. Gross was drafted 25th overall in the 1975 NBA draft and played for Portland from 1975–. He was a member of the championship team and part of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1978. He averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.2 steals in 486 games. Porter was drafted 24th overall in the 1985 NBA draft and was a 2x All-Star. He played for the Blazers from –. He is the franchise leader for total assists (5,319), second in steals (1,182), and is tied for second for triple-doubles (7). Porter averaged 14.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in 758 games. Neal was drafted 31st overall in 1972 and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He was a member of the championship team, playing in Portland from 1972–1979. He averaged 11.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 435 games.

Hall of famers

Six players who have played for the Blazers in their careers have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, with four of them being drafted by Portland: Walton (inducted in 1993), Dražen Petrović (2002), Drexler (2004 as a player, 2010 as a member of the Dream Team), and Sabonis (2011). Drexler and the Dream Team were also inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009, while Petrović (2007, posthumously) and Sabonis (2010) were inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Petrović was drafted 60th overall in the 1986 NBA draft, but stayed overseas for a few seasons. He played from – in Portland, where he averaged 7.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 95 games. Sabonis was drafted #24 overall in 1986 NBA draft, but did not play for the Blazers until the 1995–96 NBA season at the age of 30. He was named NBA All-Rookie First Team and played with Portland until he retired from the NBA after the 2000–01 NBA season. Sabonis returned to the team for the 2002–03 NBA season after a season with Žalgiris before permanently retiring from the NBA. For his career in Portland, Sabonis averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 470 games.

Rookies of the year

Portland has had four players named Rookie of the Year, three of whom were drafted by the team: Petrie, Sidney Wicks, and Lillard. Wicks was drafted 2nd overall in 1971. He played with the team from 1971–1976, where he was a 4x All-Star. He averaged the most minutes played per game (38.8) in franchise history, as well as the second most rebounds per game (10.3), and he is tied for the second most triple-doubles (7). Wicks averaged 22.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 398 games.

Selections

The Blazers have made a total of 279 selections since their first draft in 1970. As a result of trades prior to the drafts, the team had no picks in 1998, 1999, 2014, 2016, or 2021.

Notes

References

{{Portland Trail Blazers

National Basketball Association draft
draft history