Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are the NBA’s most romantically tragic franchise, and their history is a catalogue of what-ifs that would fill a library: what if they had drafted Michael Jordan instead of Sam Bowie? What if Bill Walton’s feet had held up? What if the 2000 Western Conference Finals had ended differently? Founded in 1970, the Blazers won their sole championship in 1977 behind Walton’s brilliance and have spent the subsequent decades tantalising their fanatically loyal fanbase with near-misses and hard-luck stories. Moda Center, a 19,441-seat arena in the Rose Quarter, hosts supporters who deserve better and keep showing up regardless.

Under Chauncey Billups, the Blazers finished 36-46 in 2024-25, continuing a rebuild that has been more demolition than construction to this point. The focus is on young talent development and draft capital accumulation — the standard playbook for franchises that have accepted the present is a write-off and are investing entirely in the future. Portland’s basketball-mad fanbase has remained stubbornly supportive through the transition, which is either admirable loyalty or clinical denial, depending on your perspective.

For Australian fans, the Blazers carry particular significance through Duop Reath, the South Sudanese-Australian centre who appeared in 46 games in 2024-25, averaging 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds. Reath’s journey — from Sudanese refugee to Australian citizen to NBA player — is one of the most inspiring narratives in professional basketball, and his presence on the Portland roster gives every Australian basketball fan a direct, personal investment in the Blazers’ fortunes.

Club Information

Club Profile

The Blazers enter 2025-26 still searching for the identity that will define their next competitive era, and Billups has the unenviable task of building from rubble in a Western Conference that punishes weakness without mercy. With Reath’s inspiring presence having connected the franchise to Australian basketball fans, Portland retains a special place in the consciousness of Aussie NBA followers. The Rose City’s devoted fanbase and the Pacific Northwest’s fierce basketball culture guarantee that when the Blazers are eventually good again — and they will be, because this franchise always finds its way back — the celebration will be worth the wait. It always is in Portland.

VS — Chief sports columnist, australiafootball.com