Of all the state’s glorious teams and sporting moments, none captures more emotion than the Portland Trail Blazers’ run to the 1977 NBA title.
Born in 1970, primarily through the efforts of promoter and executive Harry Glickman, the Blazers were a moribund franchise through their first six years, playing in the depths of the league enough to earn the top pick in the draft twice – 1972 and ’74. In ’72, the team selected LaRue Martin, who played four seasons before retiring after the 1975-76 season, but selected Bill Walton, who had been named college basketball Player of the Year three times, in ‘74.
Walton played sparingly in his first two seasons due to injuries, but was healthy enough to play in 65 games during the ’76-77 season, which followed the merger between the NBA and American Basketball Association. The Blazers, under first-year coach Jack Ramsay, finished 49-33, four games behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division and joined the Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls in the Western Conference playoffs.
After beating Chicago 2-1 in the first round, the Blazers beat Denver 4-2 and then swept Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers 4-0 in the conference finals to earn the motto “Red Hot and Rollin’,” coined by radio play-by-play broadcaster Bill Schonely. They met the Philadelphia 76ers in the Finals.
Portland lost the first two games, but established its toughness in the second game when forward Maurice Lucas decked 76ers forward Darryl Dawkins from behind after Dawkins had hit Portland’s Bobby Gross following a late-game battle for a rebound. Portland lost and fell behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, and Lucas was suspended for the next game (along with Dawkins), but the Blazers won the following two games by 22 and 32 points, respectively. They beat Philadelphia 110-104 at the Spectrum in Game 5, and closed the series on June 5 with a 109-107 win at Memorial Coliseum, setting off a frenzied celebration throughout the city. Bill Walton was named MVP of the Finals.
Portland leaders organized a parade June 6 and an estimated 250,000 residents showed up.
Maurice Lucas, in his third year out of Marquette, led the team in scoring during the regular season at 20.2 points per game, while Walton averaged 18.6 points and 14.4 rebounds. Rookie guard Lionel Hollins averaged 14.7 points and a team-high 4.1 assists. Bob Gross, guard Dave Twardzik and small forward Larry Steele also averaged double figures in points.
During the season, fans filled the Coliseum to its seating capacity, 12,666, and began a streak of 814 consecutive sellouts, a streak that ended only after the team moved to the Rose Garden in 1995.
The ’77 Blazers were inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.
1977 NBA Champions – Portland Trailblazers
Head Coach Jack Ramsay, Assistant Coach Jack McKinney
3 – Herm Gilliam 10 – Corky Calhoun
13 – Dave Twardzik 14 – Lionel Hollins
15 – Larry Steele 16 – Johnny Davis
20 – Maurice Lucas 30 – Bob Gross
32 – Bill Walton 34 – Robin Jones
36 – Lloyd Neal 42 – Wally Walker
