Portland Trail Blazers · Franchise era 4 of 7
The deep veteran contenders: the Portland Trail Blazers story
Franchise era
1995–96—2002–03
The deep veteran contenders
Portland Trail Blazers
The story in one sentence
Portland assembled extraordinary depth and came within a fourth-quarter collapse of the 2000 Finals.
01
Sabonis and Wallace nearly break through
02
Arvydas Sabonis, Rasheed Wallace and Scottie Pippen gave the era its recognizable core.
03
Its ending created the conditions for from jail blazers to roy.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 1995–96
What came before
A balanced, athletic roster reached the Finals in 1990 and 1992 and won 63 games at its peak.
1999
Western Conference Semifinals: Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz
1999
Western Conference Finals: Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs
2000
Western Conference Finals: Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers
After 2002–03
What came next
Roy restored the bond between team and city, but devastating knee injuries to him and Oden erased the young core's ceiling.
The core