Only two of the 30 NBA teams have two mascots to represent their team: the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers. Four teams - the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Knicks - don't even have a single mascot. Yet Blazers fans get the luxury of having both Blaze the Trail Cat and Douglas Fur entertain at Moda Center.
Blaze the Trail Cat
The Blazers have had Blaze the Trail Cat as their mascot since 2002. Blaze replaced Portland's previous mascot, Sparky, a Dalmatian. According to Ranker, Blaze is the No. 19 best mascot in the NBA (No. 1 is Chicago's Benny the Bull). While Blaze, being a trail cat, is clever for the Trail Blazers, a silver mountain lion doesn't represent Oregon or Portland specifically; this is where their newest mascot addition, Douglas Fur, comes into play.
When did the Blazers add Douglas Fur?
The Pacific Northwest is notorious for having reported Bigfoot sightings with its vast forests. The Blazers paid homage to this rumor by adding their Douglas Fur mascot, or "Douggy" for short. He's a long-lost relative of the Blazers' Bigfoot mascot that they had in the 80s, Sparky Bigfoot.
The Blazers released the following information on their newest mascot: "Keeping himself hidden, Douglas has been living amongst the vast acres of Douglas fir trees in Forest Park and navigating over 80 miles of hiking trails while naturally blending in with other un-shaven local hikers and explorers camouflaged in true hipster outdoor attire."
After finishing with a 21-61 record last season, all signs indicate that the Blazers have no desire to significantly improve next season as they continue to be patient in rebuilding their young core after trading away superstar Damian Lillard last offseason. The 2025 NBA Draft, headlined by Cooper Flagg, is expected to be an extremely strong class, and the Blazers will likely do everything in their power to position themselves to have a decent chance at a top draft pick.
As a result, Blazers fans could be in for yet another long 2024-25 season. At least the Blazers now have two mascots to keep the fans entertained.