The 1973–74 Portland Trail Blazers season was the fourth 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). The Blazers finished at 27–55, a six-game improvement from the previous season. The season started with promise as Portland opened the year with a 10–8 record. A nine-game losing streak followed and sent the Blazers sinking in the standings. They managed to cling to just under .500 but the months of January and February were unkind. Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks each garnered selections to the 1974 NBA All-Star game, but massive deficiencies on defense plagued the Blazers. Their lack of a size and experience at center allowed opponents to score almost at will. The Blazers lost 23 of 25 games and wound up with the worst record in the Western Conference. Coach Jack McCloskey was relieved of his duties at the end of the season.

Draft picks

;Information from

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Awards and honors

Sidney Wicks Sidney Wicks (born September 19, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. Wicks was selected by the Portlan ...

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

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 ...

, NBA All-Star

Transactions

* September 27, 1973 – Waived forward Bob Davis * October 1, 1973 – Signed free agent guard Mo Layton * October 14, 1973 – Traded guard

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 ...

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 a second round pick in the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and ot ...

( Phil Lumpkin was chosen). * October 31, 1973 – Waived guard Charlie Davis and signed free agent guard

Mark Sibley Donald Mark Sibley (born ) is a retired American basketball player. He was a 6'2" 175 lb guard and attended Northwestern University. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1973 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls but was waived prior to the ...

* December 1, 1973 – Waived guard Mo Layton * December 26, 1973 – Signed free agent guard

Bob Verga Robert Bruce Verga (born September 7, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, who played in the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to 1974. He was a guard and played colle ...

* January 8, 1974 – Waived guard Bernie Fryer * May 20, 1974 – Forward Ollie Johnson was selected by the New Orleans Jazz in the 1974 NBA expansion draft * June 12, 1974 – Waived guards Mark Sibley and Bob Verga ;Transactions via

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1973-74 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 1973 Portland Trail Blazers 1973