Worst 10-game starts in Portland Trail Blazers history

The Portland Trail Blazers are now 1-3 to start the 2024-25 season. Unsurprisingly, the possibility of having one of their best ten-game starts in franchise history is already off the table after their three losses. In order to avoid being on this list for having one of the worst ten-game starts, they'd have to finish with at least a 4-6 record, meaning they'd have to win three of their next six games.

That's going to be a tall task given where they are at in their rebuild as well as the level of competition they have to play, traveling to six cities in the next six games to take on the Clippers, Thunder, Suns, Pelicans, Spurs, and Timberwolves, with their game against OKC being the only home game in that stretch. Toumani Camara takes pride in frequently guarding the opposing team's best player but will have his hands full against the superstars on teams from that list of their upcoming matchups.

Here are the other Blazers' teams of the past seasons that this year's team wants to avoid being in the same conversation as:

Blazers' worst start was in 1972-73

Record: 1-9

Key players: Sidney Wicks, Geoff Petrie, Lloyd Neal

How the season went

The Blazers finished with a 21-61 record, tied for second worst in the league. Portland seemed to be in the process of building a "big three" between Petrie (the "Original Trail Blazer"), Wicks (Rookie of the Year the prior season), and Neal. Despite being the No. 31 overall pick in the 1972 NBA Draft, Neal finished second in ROY voting. However, he regressed in the following seasons.

Rough start for the Blazers in 1971-72

Record: 2-8

Key players: Sidney Wicks, Geoff Petrie, Dale Schlueter

How the season went

This season was extremely early in the Blazers franchise, as they entered the league in 1970. It was clear Portland was still trying to get under their feet. Their 18-64 end-of-season record, which was the worst in the league, reflected that. Wicks was a silver lining to the season, impressively winning Rookie of the Year and making the All-Star game in the same year.

Another forgettable start in 1980-81

Record: 3-7

Key players: Kelvin Ransey, Jim Paxson, Mychal Thompson

How the season went

Despite their historically poor start, the Blazers managed to turn their season around. They finished with a 45-37 record. Between games 28 and 41 of the regular season, Portland won 14 of 15, which was the turning point in the season. The Blazers made the playoffs, losing to the Kansas City Kings in the first round.

2023-24 also made history for the wrong reasons

Record: 3-7

Key players: Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons

How the season went

The Blazers finished with a 21-61 record, the worst in the Western Conference, and tied for the third-worst record in the association. Their lackluster offense was a major contributing factor, as they had a 108.3 offensive rating, which was the second-worst in the league. They winded up getting unlucky in the draft lottery, falling all the way to No. 7. However, they were lucky in the actual draft with Donovan Clingan falling to them, who has looked promising in his limited minutes so far this season.