Tomorrow, the Portland Trail Blazers will start the season against the Utah Jazz. In celebration, we look back on the 10 greatest Opening Day performances in team history, starting with Part 1.
There’s nothing quite like the optimism of Opening Day, especially for a team like the Portland Trail Blazers. For the last half-decade, we’ve watched the Blazers’ front office retool and adjust, hoping to put together the requisite roster to fit their star backcourt.
Despite a less-than-inspiring preseason, there’s still some belief about them being able to do so.
Starting tomorrow, we’ll be able to begin piecing together examples to build a case for how much faith we have in that. The Portland Trail Blazers will do battle with their Northwest Division foe, the Utah Jazz.
As history tells us, getting off to a hot start can be the difference between comfortable seeding in the standings — see the 2018-19 season and — the scratch-and-claw for a bottom seed the way it was last season.
In the Damian Lillard era (from 2015-16 on), the Blazers have won four of five on Opening Night, and are 6-2 overall since drafting him.
To celebrate, here, we’ll take a trip down memory lane, chronicling the ten greatest season-opening performances in Portland Trail Blazers franchise history.
But first, a few honorable mentions from the six that just missed the cut:
— Clyde Drexler’s 1990-91 season-opener — 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists on 11-of-19 shooting. Drexler led the comeback from a 16-point deficit with 17 third quarter points by his lonesome to beat the Rockets 91-90.
— Nicolas Batum’s 2012-13 season-opener — 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals on 9-of-16 shooting. Batum put his all-around game on display, helping Portland beat the super team Lakers in 116-106 fashion.
— Jim Barnett’s 1970-71 season opener — In the first game in Blazers history, Barnett put together a 31-point game on 10-of-18 shooting to put the Blazers ahead 115-112.