The 1970–71 Portland Trail Blazers season was the inaugural 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 Northwest Division (N ...

in the

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

(NBA). In their first regular season game on October 16, 1970, they beat the fellow expansion

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

115–112, with 4,273 people in attendance.Portland Trail Blazers (1970–Present)
/ref> The Trail Blazers played a regular season home game at

McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena. Also known as "The Pit" or " ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

on February 19, 1971, against the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Kings are the ...

. Portland was defeated by Cincinnati, 102–109. Portland finished last in the Pacific Division with a record of . Of the three expansion teams, their record was the best; with seven more wins than the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

and fourteen more than the Cavaliers. The leading scorer for the Blazers was

Geoff Petrie Geoffrey Michael Petrie (born April 17, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Pennsylvania, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers where he ...

; he averaged 24.8 points per game and shared Rookie of the Year honors with

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

star

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the B ...

Offseason

NBA draft

Expansion draft

Roster

Pre-season

The Trail Blazers convened their preseason camp on September 14, 1970. Sixteen players reported to camp, which was held in the gymnasium at

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. Affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the school mainta ...

Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland, Oregon, Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area . Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in ...

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

was unable to attend the camp due to the death in his father. Players reported to drills at 10 am and 4 pm. The first players to be cut from camp were third round draft pick Bill Cain and Tim Robinson, who had played for the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

from 1961 to 1965.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

;Footnotes * The game was held at the Oakland Civic Auditorium in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. * The game was held at

Seattle Center Coliseum Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. * The game was held at the

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. Opened in 1966, it is an example of New Formalism architecture and has been designated by the City of San Diego as a historic resource. The arena has been home to numerous athletic team ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. * The game was held at the

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. * The game was held at

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. * The game was held at

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (later ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. * The game was held at

Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha Civic Auditorium was a multi-purpose convention center located in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1954, it surpassed the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum as the largest convention/entertainment complex in the city, until the completion of CHI Health Center ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Transactions

* March 27, 1970: signed first round draft pick

* April 1, 1970: signed second round draft pick Walt Gilmore * April 6, 1970: signed third round draft pick

Bill Cain Bill Cain, SJ (c. 1947–), is an American playwright and Jesuit priest. He founded a Shakespeare company in Boston, and the ''New York Times'' has praised him for his "impish humor". Works Cain wrote the play ''Stand Up Tragedy'' and the play ...

and tenth round draft pick Israel Oliver * April 21, 1970: hired

Rolland Todd Rolland Douglas Todd (born April 26, 1934) is a former player and coach in the National Basketball Association, and a former player in the American Basketball League (1961–63), American Basketball League, who also coached basketball at Univers ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

* April 27, 1970: hired

Stu Inman Stuart Kirk Inman (August 2, 1926 – January 30, 2007) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1950 NBA draft from San Jose State University by the Chicago Stags; however, he did not pl ...

chief scout and director of player personnel * April 30, 1970: signed eighth round draft pick Doug Boyd * May 10, 1970: ''see

Expansion Draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

'', traded Larry Siegfried to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for Jim Barnett. * June 5, 1970: signed seventh round draft pick

Claude English Claude W. English (born December 26, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and collegiate coach. He spent one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Portland Trail Blazers during their inaugural 1970– ...

and ninth round draft pick Billy Gaskins * August 11, 1970: signed expansion draft pick

Rick Adelman Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden S ...

* August 19, 1970: signed expansion draft pick

* August 28, 1970: placed Fred Hetzel on waivers (claimed by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

) * September 3, 1970: signed expansion draft picks Stan McKenzie and Joe Kennedy * September 11, 1970: re-signed Jim Barnett to a two-year contract valued at $35,000–$40,000 a year * September 21, 1970: placed Bill Cain and Tim Robinson on waivers * September 25, 1970: placed Walt Simon on waivers * September 30, 1970: placed Joe Kennedy on waivers * October 7, 1970: sold Pat Riley to the Los Angeles Lakers * October 20, 1970: traded a

1971 NBA draft The 1971 NBA draft was the 25th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 29 and 30, 1971, before the 1971–72 NBA season, 1971–72 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting ...

pick (second round) to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in exchange for Shaler Halimon * October 22, 1970: traded Dorie Murrey to the Baltimore Bullets in exchange for a 1971 NBA draft pick (second round) and draft right to Bill Stricker * October 26, 1970: signed free agent Bill Stricker * November 16, 1970: waived Bill Stricker * March 23, 1971: traded Jim Barnett to the

San Francisco Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in exchange for two 1971 NBA draft picks (second and third rounds) and a 1972 NBA draft pick (second round) * April 6, 1971: Waived

Media

On September 13, 1970, the Trail Blazers announced that

KPTV KPTV (channel 12) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Vancouver, Washington–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX (channel 49). The two stations sh ...

would broadcast 12 road games (all in

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

) during their inaugural season. Jimmy Jones was Portland's

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

announcer on television.

Awards and honors

, Co- Rookie of the Year

References

External links

*
Blazers on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1970-71 Portland Trail Blazers season

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Portland Trail Blazers seasons Portland Trail Blazers 1970 Portland Trail Blazers 1970