Is There a Lost Title in the Trail Blazers’ Past?

The Portland Trail Blazers famously won the 1977 NBA Championship behind Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, and Head Coach Jack Ramsay, imprinting their homespun, all-for-one culture on the basketball landscape. The Blazers just as famously have not won a title since, 48 years of falling short.

Along the way there were blips and blurps of success. Portland returned to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 behind Clyde Drexler and company, losing to the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, respectively. Rasheed Wallace and his traveling All-Star Team made the Western Conference Finals in 2000, famously pushing Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant to seven games, leading by double-digits in the deciding contest before surrendering that edge, and the eventual title, to the Lakers.

It can be argued that the losses above all happened on the court. Referees may have played a small part in 2000, Danny Young’s just-barely-too-late buzzer-beater in 1990, but at least the Blazers were in uniform when defeat snatched victory out of their grasp.

It’s possible that no legacy is sadder, or more frustrating, than the dynasty that got away from Portland in the mid-to-late 2000’s. That one wasn’t decided on the hardwood, but in medical offices.

In 2006, the Blazers pulled off one of the greatest drafts in their history, wheeling and dealing to snag the best two players out of that year’s draft class: forward LaMarcus Aldridge and guard Brandon Roy. Roy would go on to win Rookie of the Year that season.

Luck followed skill in the 2007 NBA Draft as Portland won the draft lottery and the right to select first overall. The Blazers chose Ohio State center Greg Oden over Texas forward Kevin Durant, completing a 1-2-3 punch that was ready to rule the league for a decade. Roy was a huge scorer. Oden was a physical deity, a defender and shot-blocker who could dominate at the rim. Aldridge was a multi-time All-Star in waiting, combining size and mobility with a mid-range game that bordered on unstoppable.

The trio was a nightmare. They barely ever lost when they played together. They were set to bridge the gap between the Spurs reign in the late 90’s and early 00’s and the Golden State Warriors to come. The transition between Portland and Golden State in 2014-15 should have been epic, a massive elder lion and a group of young upstarts vying for control of the Western Conference pride.

That never happened. Oden’s knee buckled before he played a single NBA game. He’d suit up only 82 times for the Blazers total in five seasons. Roy won league honors aplenty, but his knee turned to pudding as well. Five years and two All-NBA awards later, he was done. Aldridge would have a long and distinguished career with the Blazers and Spurs, but his Portland teams never made it past the second round.

This history rehearsal sets up a question I was debating with a colleague recently.

If the Roy-Aldridge-Oden incarnation of the Blazers had remained healthy, would they have won an NBA championship?

To aid your musing, here’s a list of NBA Champions between 2007 and 2017, the first ten years of the potential Blazers ascendancy:

2007—San Antonio Spurs

2008—Boston Celtics

2009—Los Angeles Lakers

2010—Los Angeles Lakers

2011—Dallas Mavericks

2012—Miami Heat

2013—Miami Heat

2014—San Antonio Spurs

2015—Golden State Warriors

2016—Cleveland Cavaliers

2017—Golden State Warriors

Do you see any champions Portland might have overcome with their Big 3 plus Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, and company? Help settle this argument between myself and another analyst in the comment section and we’ll all breathe easier.

If you wish, you can answer a side question. If you don’t believe in the Roy-Aldridge-Oden trio, which other “also ran” Portland team (besides the 1977 Champions and Drexler’s squads, both of whom actually made the Finals) do you feel was closest to winning it all. Was it that 2000 WCF group or maybe the Aldridge, Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews group in the mid-2010’s? Share your thoughts below!