The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA) based in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the

NBA 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 St ...

’s

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 ...

. They played their games at the

Rose Garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

. The team folded after the 2002 season, after just three seasons in the league. They were the only WNBA team that had never made the playoffs.

History

In its short, three-year history, the Portland Fire franchise held some of the more dubious distinctions among WNBA franchises. Founded in 2000,

owner

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

served as the team's chairman. Led by

Vanessa Nygaard Vanessa Nygaard (born March 13, 1975 in Scottsdale, Arizona) is a professional basketball coach and former player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She currently serves as the head coach for the Phoenix Mercury. She is als ...

and

Sylvia Crawley Sylvia Crawley (born September 27, 1972) is a former American professional women's basketball forward, licensed minister and motivational speaker. She was also the head women's basketball coach of the Boston College Eagles, from 2008 to 2012, and a ...

, the team managed a 10–22 win–loss record in their inaugural season. In the 2001 season, the team faced another losing season but found hope in the play of rookie guard

Jackie Stiles Jackie Marie Stiles (born December 21, 1978) is an American college basketball coach who was formerly an assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team and at Missouri State University. Stiles set several scoring records ...

, who would win the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. However, in 2002 Stiles suffered a severe injury and was out for most of the season. Without their star player, the Fire finished with an even record. The 2002 season proved to be the Portland Fire's swan song season, but most improved. After this season, the WNBA sold ownership of their franchises to owners of their counterpart

teams or to third parties. Portland Fire chairman

's continued financial problems with what was seen league-wide as an underachieving Trail Blazers team put him out of the running to buy the Fire franchise and led to the Portland Fire folding in 2002. A group led by

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

and

Terry Emmert Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albrit ...

attempted to buy the franchise, but a deal was not made. With this, the Fire became the only WNBA franchise not to make the playoffs, and along with the

Miami Sol The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

, the WNBA franchise with the shortest lifespan.

Season-by-season records

Roster and coach

Players

Tully Bevilaqua Tully Louise Bevilaqua (née Crook on 19 July 1972) is an Australian professional women's basketball player. She formerly played for the San Antonio Stars in the WNBA and the Perth Lynx in Australia's WNBL. The 5'7" Bevilaqua's play style is ...

, who went on to play with the

San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the ...

Monique Cardenas Monique is a female given name. It is the French form of the name Monica. The name has enjoyed some popularity in the United States since about 1955, and is less common in other English-speaking countries except for Canada although mostly used ...

, retired after rookie season and the Fire's folding in 2002. *

, now as assistant coach for the

North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball The North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I women's college basketball. They are led by head coach Courtney Banghart, who will ...

team. *

Kristin Folkl Kristin Just Folkl (born December 19, 1975) is an American former volleyball player and collegiate and professional women's basketball player. She now goes by her married name of Kristin Folkl-Kaburakis. As a volleyball player she was part of the ...

, retired after the Fire's folding in 2002. *Melody Johnson, retired after rookie season and the Fire's folding in 2002. *

: Head coach of the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

from 2022 to 2023. *

Lynn Pride Lynn Pride (born October 16, 1978) is an American former collegiate and professional basketball player. Born in Vero Beach, Florida, she attended Sam Houston High School in Arlington, Texas, and during her senior year, she was ranked as one of t ...

: Played for Portland in the inaugural expansion 2000 season before being traded to the Lynx, where she played for two and a half seasons (2001–03). She was waived by the Lynx before signing up with the Sparks, where she played the rest of the 2003 season before retiring. *

: Selected fourth overall by the Portland Fire in the 2001 WNBA Draft, she was later voted the Rookie of the Year on August 16, 2001. But since that high point, Stiles has suffered numerous injuries, including 13 surgeries, which has greatly hampered her WNBA career (2001–03). After the Fire folded in 2002, Stiles was selected 14th by the Los Angeles Sparks to play for the Sparks in the 2003 season, but did not play due to spending rehabilitation time for her injuries. She retired from the WNBA after that season, though her WNBA rights are still owned by the last team she was with, the L.A. Sparks. After an injury-hampered WNBA career, in 2004, Stiles made her first comeback to basketball in a new league on a new basketball team and signed with the

Lubbock Hawks The Lubbock Hawks were a women's professional basketball team in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Based in Lubbock, Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United Stat ...

(in Lubbock, Texas) of the

National Women's Basketball League The National Women's Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NWBL, was an organization governing professional basketball leagues for women in the United States. The league was founded in 1997 and began play in the Fall of that year. The league ...

(NWBL), which proved unsuccessful for her. Stiles made her second comeback to basketball in a different league with a different team on September 29, 2006, when the Canberra Times reported that Stiles signed to play for the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

in Australia. *

Stacey Thomas Stacey Thomas (born August 29, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Career Thomas attended college at University of Michigan and graduated in 2000. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1997 and Big Ten Defen ...

: She was selected 23rd overall in the 2000 WNBA draft by the Portland Fire. When she became a free agent after the Fire's folding following the 2002 season, she signed with Portland's I-5 rivals, the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

, but was waived before she even played in a Storm uniform. She played for the

, the team that signed Thomas after the Storm let her go, the 2003 WNBA Championship

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. ...

team, the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

, and then the

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

. After the 2006

season, Stacey Thomas decided to retire from the WNBA in 2006 because she thought it was time. Following her retirement, the Charlotte Sting folded on January 3, 2007, just a few months prior to the start of the next WNBA season. * Michele Van Gorp: An assistant coach at

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

since June 2007. *

DeMya Walker DeMya Chakheia Walker (born November 28, 1977) is a professional basketball player from the United States. High school Walker was born and grew up in Mount Holly, New Jersey, where she attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School and she set ...

: Signed a free agent contract with the Portland Fire in 2000 after being released by the

a few months back, and played with them for all three seasons of their existence. The WNBA held a Dispersal draft on April 24, 2003, which Walker was a part of, that involved various former players from the newly-defunct Portland Fire and Miami Sol franchises that were chosen by the existing WNBA teams. The Sacramento Monarchs selected Walker as the fifth overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Dispersal Draft. Walker played the next several seasons with the Monarchs (2003–08), and helped the team win the 2005 WNBA Finals by defeating the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

, three games to one. Walker was waived by the Monarchs on May 15, 2008. Walker was re-signed by the team on July 21, 2008, making her a free agent or another WNBA retiree who started their career with the dubious Portland Fire. *

Sophia Witherspoon Sophia L. Witherspoon (born July 6, 1969) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard for seven seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Witherspoon played college basketball for the Unive ...

: Played a total of 7 seasons in the WNBA. Two of them with the Portland Fire (The first two seasons in franchise history; 2000 & 2001). Before that, she played with the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

from 1997-99. After her 2000–01 stint with the Fire, she played her last two seasons with the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

in 2002-03 before retiring.

Head coach

Linda Hargrove Linda Hargrove (married name Bartholomew, born Tallahassee, Florida February 3, 1949 – October 24, 2010, Tallahassee, Florida) was an American country songwriter and musician. She wrote many country music hits for a variety of artists and h ...

was the head coach and general manager of the Portland Fire from 2000 to 2002. She later served as general manager of the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

from 2005 until 2008.

References

{{WNBA Basketball teams established in 2000 Basketball teams disestablished in 2002 Defunct Women's National Basketball Association teams Defunct basketball teams in Oregon

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

2000 establishments in Oregon 2002 disestablishments in Oregon