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From Petrie to Glide to Dame: The All-Star history of the Portland Trail Blazers

By Matt George Moore

Geoff Petrie, player for the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team.
Geoff Petrie, player for the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team. /
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PORTLAND, OR – JANUARY 25: Former NBA player, Bill Walton attends the Los Angeles Lakers against the Portland Trail Blazers for the Portland 40th Anniversary on January 25, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR – JANUARY 25: Former NBA player, Bill Walton attends the Los Angeles Lakers against the Portland Trail Blazers for the Portland 40th Anniversary on January 25, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

BILL WALTON

Bill Walton said Maurice Lucas was the greatest Blazer of all time.

“In our first meeting,” Walton said, “(Lucas) told me we were going to win the NBA Championship — that season. He was right. He was always right.”

Lucas surely recognized the greatness that was William Theodore Walton III. Although injuries and a testy relationship with Blazers management would put a premature end to Walton’s time with the Trail Blazers, he’s likely the player casual fans think of when they remember Portland’s lone NBA title.

Bill Walton
Bill Walton /

A two-time national champion at UCLA, the highly decorated Walton also won two titles in the NBA: with Portland in 1977 and with the Boston Celtics in 1986.

Walton, whom the Blazers chose first overall in the 1974 draft, was a two-time All-Star with the Trail Blazers (for the 1976-1977 and 1977-1978 seasons).

And he was dominant. During four seasons in Portland, Walton averaged 17.1 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. He was elected to the NBA Hall of Fame in 1993 and remains a prominent (and often hilariously baffling) figure in and around the basketball world.

The Trail Blazers retired Walton’s No. 32 jersey in 1989.