When you’ve been around for as long as the Portland Trail Blazers have, you’re bound to have hit on a few draft picks. Here are their 15 best picks to date.
The Portland Trail Blazers have a sneaky long history in the NBA. Yes, they are tucked up away in the Pacific Northwest and were overshadowed by their former rival in the Seattle SuperSonics for years. However since the SuperSonics’ highly controversial move to the Sooner State to become the Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland has been the lone NBA team in that part of the country for over a decade.
Historically, Portland is considered to be a good, but not great basketball franchise. Though the Trail Blazers have six division titles and three Western Conference Championships, their only NBA Championship came in 1977 on the back of Bill Walton. That being said, many outstanding players have played on the Rose City hardwood in the history of the NBA. Many of these players were hand selected by the Trail Blazers in NBA Drafts.
Portland has certainly crushed a few of its draft picks, but has whiffed on a few others. This franchise has also had a not-so kind history when it comes to career-altering injuries. Guys like Walton, Sam Bowie, Brandon Roy and Greg Oden certainly fit that bill. That being said, the Trail Blazers have taken a few hall of famers and a handful of All-Stars with their draft picks.
Without further ado, here are the 15 greatest draft picks made by the Trail Blazers in franchise history. Before we begin, do keep in mind that Roy was not originally selected by the Trail Blazers. He was a Minnesota Timberwolves pick before briefly starring in the league for Portland before his knees completely deteriorated. For the sake of Rip City, let’s rip through this all-time list.
Like most expansion teams, it took a while for the Trail Blazers to get going on the hardwood. To think that they won the NBA Finals in their first-ever playoff berth is somewhat crazy. Just who did they think they were, setting the tone for the Florida Marlins and the Vegas Golden Knights to do something spectacular? Well, it helps if your team drafts well to ensure a shot at a title.
The Trail Blazers made one of their better early draft selections by taking small forward Bob Gross No. 25 overall out of Long Beach State in the 1975 NBA Draft. Though never an All-Star, Gross would play seven of his eight NBA seasons for the Trail Blazers. As a second-year player, Gross played in all 82 regular season games, averaging 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the eventual championship team in Portland.
Gross would back that up with what was his best season as a professional in year three. As a third-year pro out of Long Beach State in 1977-78, Gross was named to the All-Defensive second team, averaging 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. He also averaged 12.7 rebounds, 5.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists that season. However, that would be the last time that Gross averaged double figures in scoring during his NBA career.
Gross played with the Trail Blazers through the 1981-82 NBA season. He would sign with the then San Diego Clippers ahead of the 1982-83 NBA season before retiring at the age of 29. Gross averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists during his seven years in Portland. In 2008, Gross had his No. 30 jersey retired by the Portland franchise.
When the Trail Blazers were just getting under way in Portland, they took a chance on a big man out of Tennessee State in Nashville in the form of power forward/center Lloyd Neal. Neal would leave the Music City for the Pacific Northwest via his selection in the 1972 NBA Draft. Turns out, Portland would be the only professional franchise Neal would play for.
The former third-round selection (yes, there were more than two rounds back in the day) would join the Trail Blazers in their third-ever season. No, the Trail Blazers weren’t the least bit good in the early 1970s, but it was only a matter of time before Blazer Mania took over the Pacific Northwest. Neal was obviously a big part of that 1977 championship team.
Frankly, Neal’s best season as a professional was his first when he made the NBA All-Rookie first team. That season, he averaged 13.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Interestingly, that would be his only season that he averaged a double-double for the Trail Blazers. Unfortunately, injuries cut short his career, having to retire after the 1978-79 NBA season at age 28.
Overall, Neal averaged over double figures in scoring four times in his seven-year NBA career. In only 435 career games, Neal posted 11.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 25.3 minutes per contest. Like many of his 1976-77 teammates, Neal has his jersey retired by the Trail Blazers organization. This came in 1979 on the heels of his retirement from ball due to injury.
We’ve reached our first Basketball Hall of Famer on this list. To be fair, most of his acclaim was garnered by the great work he did behind the Iron Curtain in the Soviet Union. That being said, center Arvydas Sabonis was an excellent player once he did arrive in Portland in 1995. He was originally drafted by the Trail Blazers No. 24 overall in the 1986 NBA Draft.
Sabonis was starring overseas for Zalgiris in modern-day Lithuania. He led the Soviet Union to a gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Games and a bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Games while representing newly formed Lithuania. A brilliant scorer and arguably the most gifted passing big man of all-time, Sabonis would not come to the United States until 1995 at age 31.
As a rookie, Sabonis would make the All-Rookie first team. He finished runner-up to future Portland Damon Stoudamire for NBA Rookie of the Year and runner-up for NBA Sixth Man of the Year to Toni Kukoc. Sabonis averaged 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game as a rookie. He would play seven NBA seasons with the Trail Blazers over eight years before retiring for good after the 2002-03 NBA season at age 38.
Sabonis would be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 due to his accomplishments internationally and with the Trail Blazers. In seven seasons with the Trail Blazers, Sabonis averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 24.2 minutes per contest. Today, you can see his son Domantas Sabonis play an important role in the Indiana Pacers’ frontcourt. Let’s just say Sabonis’ impact on basketball as a global game is greater than we can even begin to realize.
He has only completed five years of his NBA career so far, yet he has already cracked the top-15 in terms of all-time Trail Blazer draft picks. Assuming he doesn’t get dealt in the coming years, shooting guard C.J. McCollum stands a great chance to get into the top-10, and perhaps climb even higher. The Trail Blazers used their No. 10 overall pick to draft McCollum out of Lehigh in the 2013 NBA Draft.
Initially, taking another small-school backcourt player inside of the lottery seemed like a redundancy with Damian Lillard already at the point. However, the backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum have helped usher in a new era of exciting Trail Blazers basketball. It took McCollum a few years to get going, but he effectively replaced power forward LaMarcus Aldridge as the Trail Blazers’ other star player opposite of Lillard.
In 2015-16, McCollum would be named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. He averaged 20.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game in 34.8 minutes per contest that season. Since that campaign, the Trail Blazers can count on 35 minutes a night and 21 points per game 80 nights a year out of McCollum. Though not yet an NBA All-Star, we have to believe that McCollum will make the Western Conference squad one day. If not, well, then’s he’s the shooting guard version of Mike Conley, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
To date, McCollum has averaged 17.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in 29.2 minutes per contest. Though overshadowed by Lillard, McCollum is about as good of a running mate at star point guard could ever ask for in the NBA. Maybe he can be a Portland version of Joe Dumars if Lillard is of the Isiah Thomas variety? Regardless, McCollum is a fantastic player that only seems to get better each year in the league.
After starring collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Big Ten, the Trail Blazers used the first overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft on Bahamian big man Mychal Thompson. While he gained greater notoriety for the latter half of his NBA career with the Showtime Lakers, Thompson was an excellent frontcourt player for the Trail Blazers in his own right.
Thompson was named to the All-Rookie first team in 1978-79 when he averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in 29.4 minutes per contest. He was on his path to stardom before a leg injury slowed him down in year two. Thompson missed his entire second season with the Trail Blazers in 1979-80 due to injury. He would play the next six seasons in Portland before being traded to the San Antonio Spurs for big man Steve Johnson in 1986.
Thompson’s tenure in the Lone Star State wasn’t for long, as he would be traded to the Lakers for a pair of big men and a 1990 first-round pick. He would play the next 4.5 NBA seasons with the Lakers before retiring a two-time NBA Champion in 1991 at age 36. Overall, Thompson averaged 13.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in his 12-year NBA career over 13 seasons.
While with the Trail Blazers, Thompson averaged 16.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in 34.3 minutes per contest. Thompson calls games on Lakers broadcasts. His son Klay Thompson is too busy winning championships as the second-greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history for the Golden State Warriors. One of his other sons Trayce Thompson plays shortstop in the MLB. It’s a good sports family and Mychal is the great patriarch of the Thompson clan.
Forward Clifford Robinson had a long 18-year NBA career out of UConn. He played for five different franchises, most notably with the Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns. Robinson was an iron man for Portland, setting the franchise record for most consecutive games played at 461. Naturally, he was well worth the No. 26 overall selection in the 1986 NBA Draft.
Robinson would play his first eight NBA seasons with the Trail Blazers. As a rookie, Robinson would play in all 82 games in the 1986-87 NBA season. He would not miss a game until February 22, 1995, nearly a full six years into his NBA career. Robinson made the 1994 Western Conference All-Star team. He would be named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1993 as a member of the Trail Blazers.
Then in 1997 NBA free agency, Robison would sign with the Suns, where he would spend the next four seasons. He would make the All-Defensive second team in 2000 in Phoenix. Robinson made his second All-Defensive team in 2002 as a member of the Detroit Pistons. At age 40, Robinson would finally call it a career after playing with the 2006-07 New Jersey Nets.
Overall, Robinson would average 16.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in 30.8 minors per contest in eight seasons with the Trail Blazers. Though he has no shot of making into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Robinson’s durability and defensive tenacity made him one of the most formidable frontcourt players in the NBA for nearly two full decades. His No. 00 jersey is retired by the University of Connecticut’s men’s hoops team for his collegiate contributions.
The Trail Blazers were a brand new expansion franchise in 1970. They had the No. 8 overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft. While future Basketball Hall of Famers like Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich and Dave Cowens were already off the board, Portland made a great selection in taking shooting guard Geoff Petrie out of Princeton.
While his NBA career lasted only six seasons due to a career-ending knee injury, Petrie was an electric scorer for the Trail Blazers in the early to mid-1970s. As a rookie in 1970-71, Petrie made his first All-Star Game appearance, making the All-Rookie first team and winning NBA Rookie of the Year. That season saw Petrie average 24.8 points, 4.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game in 37.0 minutes per contest.
Petrie would go on to appear in no fewer than 60 games per season, averaging no worse than 18.3 points per game in his final five seasons with the Trail Blazers. He would make his second of two NBA All-Star Games in 1974 when Petrie averaged 24.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game in 38.4 minutes per contest. Too bad he never got to play for a playoff team while with the Trail Blazers. He would have to retire medically before the famous 1976-77 championship season. Petrie was only 28.
Truth be told, Petrie would have a second life in the NBA as an executive. He would work in the Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings’ front offices from 1985 to 1994 and 1994 to 2013, respectively. Petrie won NBA Executive of the Year twice with the Kings in 1999 and 2001. In six seasons with the Trail Blazers, Petrie averaged 21.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in 37.6 minutes per contest. Though he’s not Springfield material as a player, Petrie would have his No. 45 jersey retired by the Trail Blazers.
For many NBA fans today, you’ll know of Lionel Hollins as a head coach. He once led the Memphis Grizzlies to the Western Conference Finals in 2013. Hollins most recently coached the Brooklyn Nets from 2014 to 2016. But before any of that coaching stuff, Hollins was an outstanding point guard, mostly with the Trail Blazers.
Portland used the No. 6 overall pick on the Arizona State Sun Devils floor general in the 1975 NBA Draft. Hollins made the All-Rookie first team in 1976 when he averaged 10.8 points, 4.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in 25.6 minutes per contest. As a second-year player, Hollins really grew into his own, as the Trail Blazers won their only NBA title to date.
In year three, Hollins boasted his best season as a professional. As the starting point guard for the 1977-78 Trail Blazers, Hollins made his lone trip to the NBA All-Star Game. He averaged 15.9 points, 4.7 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game for the Trail Blazers. Hollins would stick with the Trail Blazers for a few more years before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for a first-round pick in 1980.
He played in the NBA through the 1984-85 NBA season before retiring at age 31. Hollins immediately got into coaching, taking on an assistant role for his alma mater in Tempe. It should be noted that Hollins made two All-Defensive teams while with the Trail Blazers in 1978 and 1979. Even though he only played part of five seasons with Portland, Hollins has his No. 14 jersey retired by the Trail Blazers. To this day, Hollins remains one of the very best backcourt players to star in Rip City.
Seemingly in every professional franchise, there is this one player who embodies the heart and soul of a team. He may never have made an All-Star team or garnered individual accolades of achievement. Yet, his mark on the franchise is undeniable. For the Trail Blazers, that would be small forward Jerome Kersey. Portland took him No. 46 overall in the 1984 NBA Draft out of Longwood University.
Kersey played his first 11 of 17 NBA seasons in Rip City. While he had to initially carve out a rotational role for the Trail Blazers, he became a full-time starter in year four in 1987-88. Kersey was a massively important piece on those Portland teams that were coached by Rick Adelman that went to two NBA Finals. He, Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth were a starting five good enough to win an NBA championship if not for the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons or the first wave of the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls.
After the 1992-93 NBA season, Kersey would resolve back into being a role player for the Trail Blazers. He would play in the Rose City through the 1994-95 NBA season. Then Kersey would begin his career as a journeyman in the last third of his career by signing with the Golden State Warriors in summer 1995.
Kersey would never stick anywhere for more than two seasons. Though he didn’t win a championship in Portland, Kersey did get to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy as a member of the 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs in the lockout-shortened season. He would retire in 2001 as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. In 11 years with the Trail Blazers, Kersey averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 26.2 minutes per game. Kersey died at the age of 52 due to pulmonary embolism in 2015.
The Trail Blazers made a wise choice in the 1971 NBA Draft with their No. 2 overall selection. They were able to land former UCLA Bruins star forward Sidney Wicks in that draft. Though his Trail Blazers career didn’t last forever, Wicks was arguably the first star Portland had as a franchise. He would make four All-Star Games as a member of the Trail Blazers.
Wicks won the 1971-72 NBA Rookie of the Year award, averaging 24.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in 39.6 minutes per contest. Obviously, he made the All-Rookie first team. Wicks would begin his string of four-straight trips to the Western Conference All-Star game that same season.
However, the Trail Blazers were never a playoff team in his five years with the club. Wicks would see a dip in his productivity in year five. This was the first time he did not average 20.0 points per game in a season, as well as missed out on his first trip to the All-Star Game. Before the famous 1976-77 NBA season, Wicks was dealt to the Boston Celtics for cash. He would play two seasons with the Celtics and then three more with the then San Diego Clippers before retiring in 1981 at the age of 31.
Overall, Wicks’ start to his NBA career was otherworldly. However, his prime did not carry over into his late 20s. Not being part of the championship team in Portland only being there for five years is what has likely prevented him from having his jersey retired. In five years with the Trail Blazers, Wicks averaged 22.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in 38.8 minutes per contest. Had Portland been better when he was on the team, Wicks would be better known in Trail Blazers lore.
Though not a Basketball Hall of Famer by any means, you can’t begin to tell the story of the Trail Blazers without several mentions of point guard Terry Porter. A former standout at NAIA Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Porter nearly made the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team despite battling through the chicken pox. While he didn’t get to play for the American team in Los Angeles, Porter was good enough to be a first-round pick by Portland in the 1985 NBA Draft.
Portland selected Porter No. 24 overall. He would go on to play his first 10 of 17 NBA seasons with the Trail Blazers. After playing sparingly as a rookie in 1985-86, Porter emerged as the Trail Blazers’ starting point guard the very next season. Porter would be the floor general in Rip City during the Rick Adelman/Clyde Drexler years.
In his 10 years with the Trail Blazers, Porter twice made the Western Conference All-Star Team, first in 1991 and again in 1993. The Trail Blazers would twice win the Western Conference before falling to the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. Porter would be released by the Trail Blazers in September 1995. He played seven more NBA seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.
Porter would retire after the 2001-02 NBA season at age 38 as a member of the Spurs. After retiring, Porter got into coaching. He used to lead the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. Now, he mans the sidelines for the Portland Pilots in the West Coast Conference. Porter has his No. 30 rightfully retired by the Trail Blazers. In 10 years with Portland, Porter averaged 14.9 points, 7.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 31.6 minutes per contest.
While his younger brother John Paxson is more well-known these days thanks to a shot he hit versus the Phoenix Suns and being the second-half of GarPax in Chicago, we’d be foolish to overlook Jim Paxson on this all-time list. Paxson was an outstanding two-guard for the Trail Blazers in the early to mid-1980s. Portland took him No. 12 overall out of the University of Dayton in the 1979 NBA Draft.
Paxson became a starter in the Trail Blazers’ backcourt as a second-year player in 1980-81. He would go on to average double figures in scoring in Portland over the next seven seasons. When Paxson entered his mid-20s, he certainly hit his prime. Paxson would make back-to-back Western Conference All-Star teams in 1983 and 1984. He made the All-NBA second team in 1984 when averaged 21.3 points per game.
However, Paxson would see a drastic dip in production as he entered his late 20s. He lost his starting job and was ultimately traded to the Boston Celtics for point guard Jerry Sichting in 1988. Paxson would spend the next year and change with the Celtics before being released by the club in 1990. He retired shortly after that, taking on a front office role with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Overall, Paxson played nearly nine seasons with the Trail Blazers. He averaged 16.0 points, 3.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game in 29.3 minutes per contest. Interestingly, Paxson played in an era of Portland basketball in between championship runs. He missed out on the 1977 championship by a few years and was in Boston by the time Rick Adelman helped the Trail Blazers get to two finals in three years. Paxson now works for his brother in the Chicago Bulls front office.
You just knew this guy was going to crack the top-five. Point guard Damian Lillard has been sensational since the Trail Blazers used the No. 6 overall pick on him in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Weber State. Who says small school guys can’t cut it in the NBA? Lillard and fellow small school guy in shooting guard CJ McCollum have made the Trail Blazers one of the best teams in the Western Conference the last few years.
Lillard was an immediately impactful player for Portland, winning NBA Rookie of the Year in 2013. He averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game in 38.6 minutes per contest. Lillard followed up that impressive rookie campaign with his first of three NBA All-Star appearances so far. He made the All-NBA third team as well that sophomore season in the league. That season saw Lillard hit the biggest shot of his career, a game winner over the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. This clinched Portland its first playoff series victory since 2000.
After seeing power forward LaMarcus Aldridge leave for the San Antonio Spurs in 2015 NBA free agency, Lillard absolutely stepped into the star role on the Portland hardwood. To date, he has made three trips to the NBA All-Star Game and made three All-NBA teams. 2017-18 saw Lillard achieve new heights, as an All-NBA first team representative. He averaged 26.9 points, 6.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game this past year.
Lillard is only six years into his NBA career. He stands a chance at being the greatest player in franchise history. Of course, he’ll need to play a few more years at an elite level to catch Clyde Drexler. Winning an NBA championship could potentially catapult him past the brilliant, but injury-riddled career of Bill Walton. Regardless, Lillard has been an absolute delight to watch go to work offensively for the last half decade. Here’s to many more outstanding years for Big Game Dame in Rip City.
Bill Walton is by far and away one of the most dynamic and fascinating players to have ever played on the hardwood. He’s arguably the second best player in the history of UCLA Bruins basketball behind only Lew Alcindor. Walton was an absolute franchise cornerstone coming out of Westwood with his flowing mane of red hair and his groovy approach to life in general. Portland made a terrific selection in taking Walton No. 1 overall in the 1974 NBA Draft.
Walton would really come on the scene in year three with the Trail Blazers. That happened to the be unforgettable 1976-77 NBA championship season. Walton made his first NBA All-Star Game, led the league in blocks and rebounding, was first team All-Defensive and made the All-NBA second team. Above all, he won NBA Finals MVP, as the Trail Blazers took care of the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. Even more impressive, Portland was originally down 0-2 in that best-of-seven series.
Walton would back up his NBA Finals MVP campaign with his best year as a professional. He won NBA MVP, made the All-NBA first team and the All-Defensive first team. Too bad his health took a nightmarish turn for the worse after that. Walton and his feet. It’s such a shame. He would never play for the Trail Blazers after his NBA MVP campaign. Walton missed three of the next four seasons with his hometown San Diego Clippers. He did however have a renaissance season as the NBA’ Sixth Man of the Year for the 1986 Boston Celtics. Some argue that might be the best team ever.
Walton only played in 10 NBA seasons over 13 years. His numbers aren’t overly impressive, but his impact on the game is far-reaching. Being the best player on a championship team has him firmly at No. 2 on this all-time list. Walton earned enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 based on his accomplishments at UCLA, in Portland and briefly with the Celtics. He was a top-10 all-time talent whose body sadly failed him. Portland obviously retired his No. 32 jersey.
Who else was it going to be? Clyde “The Glide” Drexler remains the greatest player in franchise history. We’re talking about one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history and a top-five in-game dunker of all-time. After being a collegiate superstar for Phi Slama Jama with the Houston Cougars, Portland made its best selection to date taking Drexler No. 14 overall in the 1983 NBA Draft.
More from Rip City Project
- Blazers News: Portland signs FIBA WC standout center
- Blazers News: Portland re-signing failed lottery pick
- 8 Do-overs the Portland Trail Blazers Wish They Had During Last Decade
- Portland Trail Blazers NBA 2K24 team, player ratings
- Woj: Blazers, Lillard ‘fully prepared’ for star to be with team in training camp
Of course, Michael Jordan played the same position, went a draft later and Portland took seven-footer Sam Bowie instead, but that’s beside the point. Drexler is Portland basketball.
By year three in the league, Drexler became a perennial NBA All-Star, making his first eight of 10 total while playing for the Trail Blazers. Drexler was a five-time All-NBA selection, making the All-NBA first team in 1992.
That same season saw Drexler be one of 12 Americans to play for the 1992 Dream Team in the Barcelona Games. Drexler was the star player that saw Portland reach two NBA Finals in a three-year span under Rick Adelman’s watch. Again, it’s too bad that Drexler’s NBA career overlapped with Jordan’s.
Regardless, Drexler is basketball royalty, as he has his No. 22 jersey retired by all three teams he played for: the University of Houston, Portland and his hometown Houston Rockets, who he finally won an NBA Championship with in 1995 alongside college teammate Hakeem Olajuwon.
Next: End-of-Season Awards: Portland Trail Blazers Edition
After retiring in 1998, Drexler he would dabble in coaching at his alma mater. No, that did not go over well. Whatever, he ended up being a first-ballot Basketball Hall of Famer like Bill Walton was in 2003. In 12 seasons with Portland, Drexler averaged 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 34.0 minutes per game. Drexler now does the color commentary for Rockets games in his native Houston. The guy is a legend in the Pacific Northwest and in Gulf Coast Texas.