Just seven years into their history, the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers led by Hall of Famer Bill Walton took down fellow Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1977 Finals to capture their first ever Larry O’Brien trophy. That title served as a source of motivation that laid the blueprint that many so-called “small market” teams in “The Association” have followed and even got themselves in position to win it all. That included the boys from “Rip City,” in the 12 years after winning their first championship never made it passed the Western Conference Semifinals. Through a series of solid draft selections and free agents signings during those years and a change on their sideline 47 games into the 1988-89 season laid the foundation for one of the best three-year runs in NBA history that got the Trail Blazers on the cusp of another title.
The foundation for the Trail Blazers three-year run from 1989-1992 began with the selection of eventual Hall of Fame guard Clyde “The Glide” Drexler No. 14 overall out of the University of Houston, who would become the face of their franchise for over a decade and be a perennial All-Star as well.
“I’d rather play the small forward spot. I think that’s my natural position,” a then 21-year-old Drexler said when asked what position he would like to play in the NBA.
For much of his life, the 10-time All-Star, who played 12 of his 15-year NBA career with the Trail Blazers did not leave Houston, TX aside from playing games for the Cougars when they had tilts in an opposing team’s gym.
While Drexler had really no expectations on how his NBA career would go, the way he performed on the hardwood certainly raised the expectations of the fans in Portland, OR with his all-around ability from the shooting guard spot. The ability to score or facilitate out of the pick-and-roll. His ability to rebound and defend where he could ignite the fast break off a steal. When Drexler got into the open court, he had the defense at his mercy with his ability to get to the basket and score in the air that would conclude in a spectacular layup or a jump out of your seat dunk.
That ability to thrill fans at the then Portland Memorial Coliseum or in the opposing team’s building was coupled with Drexler’s ability to make plays in the clutch when the Trail Blazers needed him to.
“Clyde carried our team. He was the guy,” Drexler’s teammate of six-and-a-half years Charles “Buck” Williams said. “When we needed two points, we go to Clyde. When we needed a rebound, Clyde was our man. And the leadership, and the unselfishness was just incredible.”
Drexler’s starting backcourt mate from 1985-1995 in two-time All-Star Terry Porter echoed those same sentiments saying that being such a “great passer” and a “great scorer” at all three levels (in close, mid-range and three-point range) made him a “complete guard.”
With their eventual top offensive gun in place, the Trail Blazers went to work in the years to come to put the necessary pieces around Drexler to become a contender with the next 40 percent of their starting lineup coming from small schools.
With the No. 46 overall pick in the 1984 draft, the Trail Blazers selected small forward the late Jerome Kersey out of Longwood University.
The native of Clarksville, VA simply put brought an energy and tenacity to the hardwood both in practice and in games to where if there was a loose ball, Kersey was going to outwill everyone on the floor to get it. He also had the ability to make perimeter shots from the mid-range, especially off catch-and-shoot jumpers out of penetration and double teams drawn by Drexler and others.
When it comes to players in the league who have a knack of scoring off flash plays like fast dunks; dunks off of offensive rebounds or backdoor cuts that lead to dunks off a pass from one of his teammates that can excite the home crowd or give the Trail Blazers that boost of energy to win a game, Kersey provided that and then some.
“I don’t know anybody who plays harder in this league then Jerome Kersey,” Trail Blazers head coach from 1988-1994 Rick Adelman said. “I call it that makes more effort plays than Jerome.”
In 1985 draft, the Trail Blazers selected the aforementioned Terry Porter with the No. 24 overall pick out of little-known Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
On the night Porter was drafted in 1985, the Milwaukee, WI native was invited to the Milwaukee Bucks draft party and then head coach in Hall of Famer Don Nelson said that if he was available when it was there time to make their selection that they would draft him.
When the moment came though, the Bucks chose guard/forward Jerry Reynolds out of LSU, who lasted just three seasons with the Bucks before moving on to play for the then Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic, before playing out the rest of his professional career in the states in the so-called minor leagues and overseas.
Porter was selected by the Trail Blazers two picks later and like Drexler did not have any clue of where Portland OR was.
“And I’m sure most of the fanbase in Portland didn’t know where Stevens Point, WI was either. So, we were even when it came to that,” Porter said.
It did not take long for Trail Blazers’ nation to warm up to Porter with is ability to not only score but had the remarkable ability to strike a match offensively, especially from three-point range to go along with his ability to facilitate for others.
He also was able to adapt to playing off the ball, which made him and Drexler and exceptional backcourt pairing with their ability to score from in close, mid-range and three-point range, particularly in the clutch.
“Those guys are gamers,” Drexler said of Porter and Kersey. “They weren’t high draft picks. They weren’t No. 1 or in the lottery like most of our guys were, including me. But they were guys who had confidence and they were good team players. Good system players. They could fulfill their roles. They were good defenders and they were very solid on both ends of the court.”
The last 40 percent of the Trail Blazers potent starting five came via trade as they acquired the late center Kevin Duckworth, the No. 33 overall pick in the 1986 draft out of Eastern Illinois for then rookie forward Walter Berry.
Duckworth, who was a two-time All-Star in his seven years with the Trail Blazers and the 1988 Kia Most Improved provided the inside scoring to compliment Drexler and Porter, who said that simply “fit,” especially with his ability to make face-up jump shots from 10-15 feet.
The former Panther also provided girth in the paint that deter Trail Blazers opponents from consistently doing work offensively.
The 1988-89 season for the Trail Blazers featured a lot of “turmoil” under new owner in co-founder of Microsoft the late Paul Allen, who purchased the team for $70 million.
Then starting forwards in All-Star Ernest “Kiki” VanDeWeghe and former Oregon State University star Steve Johnson, who were injured and replaced in the starting lineup by Kersey and Duckworth.
After a 25-22 start to that season, head coach Mike Schuler, who was by Drexler and several of his teammates for undermining his authority was fired and replaced by Adelman.
The team finished the season 14-21 and lost in the opening round of the postseason by the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers.
That offseason, the Trail Blazers acquired Williams from the then New Jersey, now Brooklyn Nets on June 24, 1989 for center Sam Bowie and a draft pick.
Williams said that he “never” asked for a trade from the Nets, where he was named Kia Rookie of the Year in 1982 and earned his only three All-Star selections. He was fond of the area of the team he began his career with, especially learning from Maurice Lucas, who was on that 1977 Trail Blazers title team.
After finishing his 14-year career with the Supersonics in 1987, Lucas, whose No. 20 jersey hangs in the rafters now in the Moda Center was hired an assistant coach by the Trail Blazers, who Williams said was communicating with Allen about acquiring him from the Nets.
“And somehow, he convinced (Bucky) Buckwalter and the management there to bring me to Portland,” Williams said.
Williams addition really made the difference for the Trial Blazers, who went from a team that barely played any defense into one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, which was a major reason they produced a franchise record 59 regular season wins, which tied the Detroit Pistons for the second best mark in the league that season and was second only to the 63-win Lakers.
What especially made things work for Williams when he got to the Trail Blazers is that he accepted a lesser role offensively and did not mind doing the dirty work of setting screens to get Drexler and Porter open to do their work at the offensive end.
He also took the challenge defensively of trying to at least slow down the top offensive forwards in the league like perennial All-Star and Hall of Famer Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz.
“I knew I came here to defend and rebound and give them defensive prowess that they never had,” said Williams, who went from averaging 16.4 points and 11.9 rebounds in eight seasons with the Nets to averaging 10.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in his seven seasons with the Trail Blazers. “Someone who can guard Karl Malone deep in the playoffs.”
Along with acquiring Williams in the summer of 1989, the Trail Blazers added depth to their second unit drafted No. 36 overall Clifford Robinson out of the University of Connecticut and signed the late sharp-shooter Drazen Petrovic.
That added depth off the bench, which also included the likes of guard Danny Young and veteran big men in Wayne Cooper and then rookie Mark Bryant, the No. 21 overall pick in the 1988 draft out of Seton Hall University.
“It just slowly came together,” Porter said. “I think all those guys-the one thing they had, they all wanted to win. They had great competitive edges. They all came in with a toughness about them and they want to compete, and they want to be part of a winning organization.”
It also helped Williams said that Coach Adelman gave everyone on the team “a role” and held them accountable to the roles each player was given. That was coupled with the ability to relate to each player as well, while also stressing to the team to play together as a unit and recognizing the strengths that each player brought to the hardwood.
“We tried to put together all those pieces. We tried to build our identity and come up with a style of play that fit everybody and fit us to the point where we can have success in the regular season, but more importantly when the playoffs came around.
The Trail Blazers began the 1990 postseason by taking down the Dallas Mavericks (47-35) in the opening round 3-0.
Things got tougher in the Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs and Hall of Famer David Robinson, the 1990 NBA Rookie of the Year.
In that series, the Trail Blazers were without Duckworth due to a broken right hand and Cooper to a back injury, which put Robinson right into the starting lineup in the pivot.
The series between the Trail Blazers and Spurs went back and fourth with each team winning on their home floor and extending the series to seven games.
The Trail Blazers would prevail in Game 7 in front of their home fans thanks to a big save in the closing minutes of overtime by Kersey, who got to Drexler in the open court and he drew a foul on eventual teammate Rod Strickland.
Drexler canned the two free throws and the Trail Blazers won Game 7 in overtime 108-105 to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1977.
“Nothing comes close to this. I mean, this is ecstasy,” Williams said to reporters after the win.
Porter added postgame, “We never talked about Western Conference Finals. We just talk about continuing to play at a high level. Who knows what may happen?”
The Western Conference Finals had the Trail Blazers matching up against the high-octane offensive attack of the Phoenix Suns, led by the starting backcourt of All-Star Kevin Johnson and Jeff Hornacek, All-Star forward Tom Chambers, sharp-shooting Kia Sixth Man of the Year Eddie Johnson, and Dan Majerle.
After splitting the first four games of the series with both teams holding serve at home, the Trail Blazers held off the Suns in Game 5 120-114 at home on May 29, 1990 and won at the Suns 112-109 48 hours later to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1977.
The game concluded with Williams throwing the ball in the air and then was tackled to the hardwood by his teammates.
Later that night into the early morning of June 1, 1990 as the Trail Blazers landed by plane back in Oregon at Hillsboro Airport, the pilot said to the team to look out the window.
What they saw was a plethora of fans waiting to the greet the Western Conference champions.
As the departed the plane, many of the players high-fived the fans, which Porter called “amazing” to have that kind of support as a professional athlete.
Drexler added about that moment, “I’m just happy to be a part of it. It just shows that Portland has the best fans in the NBA.”
This moment was so big for “Rip City,” that the Trail Blazers in conjunction with the “Z100 Morning Zoo” and The U-Krew created a song called “Rip City Rhapsody.”
That was followed by “Bust A Bucket,” which featured Dan Reed; “1,2,3 Go Rip City!” which also featured The U-Krew; and “2 Hot 2 Stop It!” which featured Nu Shooz, The U-Krew and Freeway.
Along with the fans taking to the songs that the Trail Blazers put together with the “Z100 Morning Zoo,” buildings and businesses throughout Portland, OR had signs showing love to the team like “Rip City!” “Go Blazers!” “Go Blazers Red Hot and Rollin’ Right to The Top!!” The fans were dawning Trail Blazers gear. Some ladies had their nails done in the colors of red and black. One lady had a photo of Drexler’s face on one of her nails. A dog owner had the team’s nickname drawn on his pooch.
In the 1990 NBA Finals, the Trail Blazers took on the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons, who just took down Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals to become champions of the East for the second straight season.
In Game 1 on the Pistons home floor, the Trail Blazers hung with their more experienced opponent but in the end, it was the Pistons who were victorious 105-99.
The loss did not deter the Trail Blazers. It made them more determined to make sure they execute down the stretch, which they did in Game 2 and tied the series with a 106-105 overtime win to tie The Finals at 1-1 and handed the Pistons their first home loss in that postseason.
“This is the team we expected,” Hall of Fame floor general for the Pistons Isiah Thomas said after the loss about their opponent. “I don’t think we underestimated them. We knew what type of ball club they have. We knew they were capable and you know, they’re in the NBA Finals. So, they’re a great basketball team.”
The Trail Blazers following the Game 2 win talked very confidently about their prospects moving forward.
“We sent a message tonight that ‘Hey, we can beat the defending world champions,” Williams, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the Game 2 win said.
The Trail Blazers had good reason to be confident because the Pistons had not won in “Rip City” since 1974. With what they did in the regular season and postseason, the Trail Blazers compiled a 44-6 mark at Memorial Coliseum, which includes a perfect 9-0 record during the 1990 playoffs heading into Games 3, 4 and 5 as The Finals then were a 2-3-2 format.
The Pistons showed their championship grit in Game 3 on the road taking down the Trail Blazers 121-106 regaining the advantage in the series 2-1.
They squeaked by the Trail Blazers in Game 4 112-109 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead thanks to making big plays down the stretch on both ends.
The story that Pistons assistant coach from 1988-95 Brendan Malone, the father of current Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told him and what he heard from many others is that the Pistons got on their team charter to head out the Pacific Northwest that their late Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Daly told the players that the plan was to win two of the next three games.
The Pistons decided that they were going to go out there and win all three games in their opponent’s building.
The Pistons had their chance and thanks to their top scorer off the bench in Vinny “The Microwave” Johnson’s jumper in the closing seconds and a miss game-winning three by Porter with 00.7 seconds left the Pistons won Game 5 92-90 to capture their second straight title and the shattered the home team’s championship dreams.
The Trail Blazers did not help themselves by shooting 42.3 percent in the loss. Committing 17 turnovers and going 19 for 30 (63.3 percent) from the free throw line.
“I don’t think any of us would ever imagine that we would lose three games consecutively after how we played on the road at their place. It was a tough pill to swallow,” Porter said of the loss in Game 5.
“It’s amazing. I think no team could ever come here and beat us three straight (games), but you know, they did.”
Drexler gave the Pistons their props as well calling the Pistons a “very good” team that was extremely “skilled.”
That offseason, the Trail Blazers thought that they needed to add some championship experience to their squad.
Enter two-time NBA champion in his eight seasons with the Boston Celtics Danny Ainge, who spent the last season-and-a-half with the downtrodden Sacramento Kings.
“I can’t think of a better opportunity at this time in my career than to be playing with the Blazers,” the current lead executive with the Celtics, who played with the Trail Blazers from 1990-92 said.
Besides being a solid backup at either guard spot behind Porter and Drexler, Ainge brought a tenacity and grit that very often got under the skin of the opponent. On top of that, Ainge can strike a match from the perimeter at the drop of a hat, and his will to win is just as strong as Drexler and his teammates.
“When you got Drazen Petrovic and Danny Ainge as your backup guards. And so that tells you how much depth that we have on our team.”
Ainge fit in like a glove with the Trail Blazers and they ruled the NBA in the regular season compiling a new franchise record 63 wins in the regular season and clinching home court advantage throughout the 1991 postseason.
“Our focus, and every night we took the floor we just start talking about, ‘Let’s get homecourt advantage,” Porter said of the team’s mindset for the 1990-91 season. “It was another goal of ours to win the division. Win the Pacific and be able to beat the Lakers.”
The Trail Blazers trek to get back to The Finals began with a First-Round tilt against their division and neighboring state rivals the Seattle Supersonics.
The Trail Blazers held serve on their home court capturing Games 1 and 2, but so did the Supersonics winning a close Game 3 (102-99) and outscored the Trail Blazers 25-17 in the fourth quarter to take Game 4 (101-89) to tie the series at 2-2.
In Game 5, the Trail Blazers rose to the challenge and finished off the Sonics 119-107 to advanced to the Semifinals, thanks to stellar second quarter where they outscored their visitors 33-18.
“Game 5, this was what we talked about, ‘Hey, this is why we worked so hard during the regular season. So, we can have final games of series at our place,” Porter said. “We was really tuned in and focused on what we had to get done.”
In the Semifinals, the Trail Blazers went up against the Utah Jazz, who took them down in the opening round three years prior in four games to win their first postseason series since 1985.
The postseason experience of the Trail Blazers really showed against the Jazz and their Hall of Fame duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone winning Game 1 117-97.
The outcome of Game 2 seemed headed in a similar direction for the Trail Blazers who were up big early but the Jazz came back in the second half to make things close before Porter scored from in close in the final closing seconds off a pass from Drexler to edge the home team past their visitors 118-116 to put them up 2-0.
The two teams played two very tight games when the scene shifted to the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, UT with the Jazz edging out the Trail Blazers in Game 3 107-101 to cut the series deficit to 2-1.
The Trail Blazers turned the tied as they ended up on the right end of close Game 4 104-101 and finished off the Jazz in Game 4 103-96 back at home in Game 5 to win the series 4-1.
“For us, it was about playing our style of basketball. Playing with confidence. Getting out in the open court, and really trying to limit Karl Malone’s effectiveness. And not letting those guys really run pick-and-roll as much as they want to. And get the type of shots they want to get,” Porter said of how the Trail Blazers got passed the Jazz.
At the start of that season, the Trail Blazers said they wanted their shot at the league’s gold standard for most of the 1980s. They got their chance at the five-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who took down the Trail Blazers on three occasions during their title run.
The Trail Blazers felt confident going into the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers because they dominated them during the regular season winning four of the five tilts.
That said, the Lakers were led by Hall of Fame floor general Earvin “Magic” Johnson and the motivation of being taken down in the Semis 4-1 against the Suns the previous spring.
The Lakers showed that championship grit led by Johnson who had 15 points, 21 assists, six boards and two steals as they stole Game 1 111-106 as they outscored the Trail Blazers 31-14 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 12-point deficit entering the final period.
“This is not the way we would’ve like to started it out,” Drexler, who had 28 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds in the Game 1 loss said postgame.
“I think we kind of underestimated the Lakers,” Williams said. “We didn’t feel that ‘Magic’ at that stage in his career and his team could beat us. And I think that Game 1 put us kind of back on our heels a little bit.”
“We can’t believe this. How did we let ‘Magic’ and the guys get a game? We’re not use to anyone beating us in our house. That set the tempo for the rest of the series.”
A series that saw the Trail Blazers win Game 2 and 5 at home but lose Games 3 and 4 at the Lakers 106-92 and 116-95 respectably.
The Trail Blazers had their chances to take the series to a decisive Game 7 but their inability to execute down the stretch of Game 6 is how they lost 91-90 and saw their dreams of getting back to The Finals be crushed right in front of their eyes.
“Unfortunately, the best team in the league is upset. Done for the season,” Ainge said postgame at his locker following the Game 6 defeat.
Williams said the team was in “shock” that their season ended short of the goal of winning a title.
Porter echoed those same feelings saying that the loss was a “big time disappointment,” and that they were “devastated” that they lost to the Lakers.
After that loss, the Trail Blazers talked about getting back on the horse and trying again to put themselves in position to win it all.
The Trail Blazers did pick themselves off the floor and finished the 1991-92 season atop the Western Conference again with 57 victories, the third most in a single season in franchise history.
Their championship quest began against the Lakers in the opening round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs and they got right after them in Game 1 outscoring them 75-41 in the first two quarters and winning the first game 115-102.
The Trail Blazers kept their foot on the gas taking down the Lakers in Game 2 101-79 standing one win away from knocking out the Lakers.
They had a chance to end the Lakers season on their home court, but Williams missed a layup in the closing seconds of regulations and the Lakers stayed alive with a 121-119 overtime win in Game 3 to cut the Trail Blazers’ series lead to 2-1.
The series was delayed for 72 hours because of the rioting that took place in L.A. because of the not guilty verdict of the cops in the Rodney King assault case.
Things were so bad that Porter said the team was told to stay at their hotel until a decision was made if the series was going to continue in the “City of Angels.”
The series was moved to the home of the University of Las Vegas Rebels at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV for Game 4 and the Trail Blazers made quick work of the Lakers winning the game 102-76 to win the best-of-five series 3-1.
“It felt great to send them home,” Williams said.
In the Semis, the Trail Blazers squared off again against the Suns and just like their Western Conference Finals tilt two springs prior it was a high scoring series.
The Trail Blazers held serve at home winning the first two games in close fashion 113-111 and 126-119 respectably. The Suns however, held serve at home in Game 3 winning 124-117 thanks to All-Star Dan Majerle, who scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter with nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The Trail Blazers and Suns played a classic back-and-fourth for the ages in Game 4 that saw a total of 304 points scored; eight players score 20-plus; featured a combined 103 free throws and 75 total fouls with six total players fouling out. The Trail Blazers would be on the right end of this classic 153-151 to take a commanding 3-1 lead when Majerle’s game-winning triple rimmed off.
“That game itself was again, one of those games where just- both teams were knocking in everything,” Porter, who had 31 points and 14 assists on 10 for 16 shooting said. “It just couldn’t seem to miss at all.”
Like two years ago, this high-octane tilt would go the way of the Trail Blazers who won Game 5 118-106 thanks to a balance attack led by Drexler with 34 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Porter had 20 points, while Kersey chipped in with 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and two blocks. Williams chipped in a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Duckworth added 12 points, while Robinson had 11 points, seven rebounds and five blocks off the bench.
“That’s a very good team that you beat four out of five games. A very good team,” Coach Adelman said to his team following the win that got them back to the Western Conference Finals. “You should be proud of yourselves. We got one more slog before we get to the big one. The small one is to win the Western Conference Finals again.”
All that was standing in the way of Trail Blazers and a trip to the championship round was the Utah Jazz, who they were meeting in the Western Conference Finals.
“The Jazz, they were sick of seeing us like we were of seeing the Lakers,” Drexler said of his description of the upcoming tilt between the two squads.
The Trail Blazers pounced the Jazz right from the opening tip of Game 1 and won going away 113-88 and followed that up with a 119-102 win in Game 2 holding serve at home.
Things changed though when the series moved to Salt Lake City, UT as the Jazz slowed the Trail Blazers down and won Game 3 97-89 and tied the series at 2-2 with a 121-112 win in Game 4.
After being neutralized by Williams in the first two games of the series, Malone played to his Hall of Fame form with 39 points and seven boards in the Game 3 win on 14 for 23 from the field and 11 for 13 from the charity stripe. That was followed by a double-double of 33 points and 12 rebounds on 10 for 17 from the floor and 13 for 14 from the charity stripe in Game 4.
In Game 5 back in Portland, the Trail Blazers and Jazz battled to a stand still for control of the series. The Trail Blazers in the end would prevail 127-121 in overtime as they outscored the Jazz in the extra five-minute frame 20-14.
Kersey led another balanced attack with 29 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Porter had 24 points and 11 assists, while Drexler also had 24 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Duckworth scored 24 points as well, while Williams registered a double-double as well with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
That balanced attack is how the Trail Blazers overcame the 38 points and 14 rebounds on 16 for 30 shooting by Malone and a playoff career-high of 28 points off the bench by Tyrone Corbin.
One of the hallmarks of a good basketball team is the ability to win games in the opposing team’s building, especially in the postseason. The Trail Blazers showed that ability two springs prior when they closed out the Suns in Game 6 of the Conference Finals in their house. They repeated that feet in Game 6 of 1992 Conference Finals winning at the Jazz 105-97 to reach The NBA Finals for the second time the last three seasons.
“Both teams played well in their building. We had to play really well to win that series,” Porter said. “And we were able to again, make enough plays in key stretches of those games in order to beat them.”
The 1990 NBA Finals had the Trail Blazers match up against the aforementioned defending NBA champion Pistons, who were regarded as one of the best defensive teams in “The Association.”
The 1992 Finals had the Trail Blazers not only matching up against another great defensive team and another defending NBA champion in the Chicago Bulls, it pitted their perennial All-Star guard in Drexler, the runner up for Kia MVP against the back-to-back Kia MVP in Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
“I think its and honor to be compared to Michael, even though I’m older than him,” Drexler said in an interview with then NBC on NBC sideline reporter Ahmad Rashad. “I thin there are many similarities. But I think the most important thing is that both of us play to win.”
Jordan in response said that Drexler is “somewhat of a mirror” of him because of his offensive versatility and his ability to defend.
In Game 1 in Chicago, IL, it was Jordan that got the better of Drexler and the Trail Blazers as he scored 35 of his game-high 39 points in the first half of the Bulls 122-89 blowout win over the Trail Blazers, with 11 assists on 16 for 27 shooting, including 6 for 10 from three-point range, with all six made triples coming in the first half.
The most memorable made three was the sixth one where he made over Robinson and just rose his hands like he could not believe what was happening.
“I started running for that three-point line,” Jordan said postgame. “I had a great rhythm. It felt like a free throw, really.”
The effort was much better by the Trail Blazers in Game 2 but the Bulls took control in the third quarter outscoring the visitors 32-16 to overcome a 54-45 first half deficit.
The prospects of going down 0-2 in the series when the Trail Blazers lost Drexler to a sixth personal foul.
The rest of the team rose to the challenge as they used an 11-3 run that was capped by a Kersey layup. Duckworth in the closing seconds of regulation tied the game again at 97-97 with a 15-foot jumper.
In overtime, the Trail Blazers outscored the Bulls 18-7 and evened The Finals 1-1 with a 115-104 win to tie the series at 1-1.
The Trail Blazers got the job done through a collective balanced effort scoring wise with Drexler leading the way with 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Porter chipped in with 24 points. Williams had a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds. Ainge, who was big in the Game 4 win of the Semis at the Suns with 25 points off the bench registered 17 points. Duckworth had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Kersey had 12 points and eight boards.
“When you take the leading scorer off your team it becomes difficult for you. But we had to try to rally. Everybody else had to kind of step up,” Porter said.
Going into Game 3 back in their gym, the Trail Blazers entered with momentum and the home court advantage.
That said, history was not on their side as evidenced by the aforementioned 1990 Finals when the Pistons won Games 3, 4 and 5 to win as mentioned their second straight title.
Before Game 3, Coach Adelman addressed his team about the importance of their tilt at home, where they had gone 8-0 so far in the 1992 NBA Playoffs.
“You need to make a statement here at home,” Adelman said. “We’ve already talked about how important this game is to put us in the driver’s seat to put their backs to the wall. I don’t care how many points he [Jordan] scores, it’s not going to be the guy that scores the most points that’s going to win this series. It’s the team that going to win the series. The best team going to win this series. The best team is us.”
It was the Bulls who were the best team winning Game 3 in Portland’s house 94-84 as they held them to 35.9 percent shooting and forced them into 20 turnovers.
While Drexler played well scoring a game-high 32 points and nine rebounds going 12 for 12 from the charity stripe, Porter had just seven points on 3 for 7 shooting. Ainge had 12 points on just 4 for 12 shooting. Kersey had 11 points on 4 for 13 shooting. Robinson had just five points on 2 for 11 shooting.
“We never said it was going to be easy,” Drexler said postgame. “Right now, were down 2-1, and we got our work cut out for us.”
With their backs against the wall the Trail Blazers got after the Bulls overcoming a 26-18 first quarter deficit to win Game 4 93-88 to square the series at 2-2 by outscoring the Bulls 75-62 the final three quarters.
Drexler and Porter led the way for the Trail Blazers scoring 21 points each, with Drexler adding nine assists and eight rebounds. Robinson chipped in with 17 points off the bench.
The Trail Blazers despite not playing at their best so far in the 1992 Finals put themselves in great position to take control of the series in Game 5 on their home floor.
Unfortunately, it was the Bulls who rose up outscoring the Trail Blazers 39-26 in the first quarter, winning Game 5 119-106 to be one game away from winning back-to-back titles.
“We’ve got nothing to lose now,” Ainge said postgame. “Everybody’s written this series off as a Chicago win and maybe that will help us.”
For the first three quarters in Game 6 that was surely the case as the Trail Blazers had the Bulls on the ropes leading 79-64 entering the fourth period after outscoring the Bulls 29-20 in the third period.
In the fourth quarter however, it was Bulls that took charge with a 14-2 start in the final frame led by their bench unit of Stacey King, Bobby Hansen, B.J. Armstrong, and Scott Williams.
Jordan would re-enter later in the period and help to finishing off the comeback as the Bulls outscored the Trail Blazers 33-14 in the fourth quarter winning Game 6 97-93, to win their second straight title in six games.
For the second time in the last three seasons, the Trail Blazers fell short of their goal of winning a title, with the loss to the Bulls being the most heartbreaking as they could not hold on to a lead as big as 17 points in Game 6.
“Devastating to lose at any time, and to lose a game like this even worse,” Drexler, who had 24 points and eight rebounds in the Game 6 loss said postgame. “You have to face the facts. The Bulls won this game and they’re the champions of the NBA, and they did a great job.”
Porter added, “It’s disappointing because we achieved so much as a team. We’ve achieved everything a team can do accept win a championship.
Seeing a team win it all is something that Williams today has a hard time seeing because the Trail Blazers fell short in their quest for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Sometimes he tells his wife when that moment is happening on television, he ask her to turn the television off because it brings him back to those two moments of failure in his playing career in 1990 and 1992.
The team was dismantled in the years that followed with first Drexler being dealt in 1995 to the Houston Rockets, where he rejoined his teammate from his collegiate days with the Houston Cougars in Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon and they led the Rockets to their second straight title in the spring 1995 taking down Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic 4-0. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in the history of the NBA one year later and retired after the 1997-98 season. Drexler was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame six years later.
After 10 seasons with the Trail Blazers, Porter signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the summer of 1995 and would go on to play with the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. He retired in 2002 and remains the Trail Blazers all-time leader in assists. Porter would go on to be an assistant coach in the NBA first with the Sacramento Kings in 2002-03 and with the Pistons from 2006-08, while also having two opportunities as a head coach first with the Milwaukee Bucks from 2003-05 and then for the Suns from in 2008-09. After three seasons as an assistant for the Timberwolves (2011-14) he would go on to be an assistant for his former team beginning in 2016.
In the summer of 1996, Williams signed in free agency with the New York Knicks, where he played the final two seasons of his 17-year career. Two years after retiring, the Nets retired his No. 52 jersey, which now sits in the Raptors of the now Brooklyn Nets home Barclays Center.
Kersey moved on to eventually sign with the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 1995 before playing for the Lakers, Supersonics, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks before retiring in 2001. He was a part of Spurs title team in the strike-shortened 1998-99 season.
Duckworth was dealt in the summer of 1993 to the then Washington Bullets, now Wizards for Harvey Grant. Weight issues plagued Duckworth in his two seasons in Washington and in his lone seasons with the Bucks and Clippers. He retired from basketball following the 1996-97 season.
While the Trail Blazers fell short of their ultimate goal from 1989-1992, they built a bond to where they worked well together off the court and built a bond of togetherness that extended off the court where they enjoyed spending time with each other from going to the movies and restaurants when the team was on the road, according to Drexler.
Porter echoed those same feelings saying that enjoyment of being around one another was what allowed them the chance to do something great.
Williams added that what really made it all work is that everyone from the players to the coaching staff, to the organization had a “trust” amongst each other.
“When you’re in a small town, you see more of them, you do more together, you’re a little bit closer because of it,” Drexler said.
They had a chemistry that allowed them to enjoy the good times and not fracture them in the toughest of times.
Those tough times came unlike any other years later with passing first of Petrovic from a traffic accident on June 7, 1993, just four-and-a-half months before his 29th birthday.
Drexler called the 1993 All-NBA Third-Team selection of now the Nets one of his “favorite” teammates.
“We all have a soft spot because he died way too young,” Drexler said. “Before he passed, I was going to go up and visit him [in Berlin], and he passed like the weekend before. He was one of the nicest guys whose ever played in the NBA.”
Porter added that Petrovic’s passing was “sad” because he was someone that Trail Blazers group “cared” greatly for.
That team also lost Duckworth, who died from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure on Aug. 25, 2008 in his hotel room after collapsing Gleneden, OR, and was unable to be resuscitated by emergency services. He was just 44 years old.
On the court, Duckworth was a solid force that gave the Trail Blazers as mentioned earlier an inside presence on both ends of the floor. Off the court, Duckworth was someone who enjoyed being around animals and loved playing with gadgets like remote control cars. He also enjoyed fishing as well.
The Portland City Council during the Trail Blazers 2008-09 season renamed the L-shaped dock adjacent to the floating portion of Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade Kevin J. Duckworth Memorial Dock and led by the Human Access Project, a commitment was made by the Portland City Council in September 2017 to convert the newly named lake into a fishing, swimming and non-motorized dock.
“I loved Duck a lot. Just a great guy,” Williams said. “He broke my heart too. He’s a real warm teddy bear type of dude. Just a real sad story. We had planned a trip for me to come out and go fishing with him in Portland but I never made it out to fish with him. But just a great guy and we missed him.”
Perhaps the hardest death for the Trail Blazers to deal with was the passing of Kersey, who died on Feb. 18, 2015 from what was determined by the medical examiners to a blood clot that traveled to his lungs, which caused a pulmonary embolism. He was just 52 years old.
Just days prior to his death, Kersey had surgery on his knee and on the death of his untimely passing he left the Trail Blazers’ Rose Quarter office because he was not feeling well.
Porter said he was driving home when he got the call that his teammate for a decade had died, which left him in disbelief and called that day a “tough” one.
“You just go back to all the great things you guys did together,” Porter said of his feelings about the passing of Kersey. “The bond you built. The comradery and just you lose another loved one. Just got punched in the stomach…We all lost a part of us that day.”
He added saying at a press conference when he passed at the Trail Blazers new home the Moda Center as tears came down his eyes, “Too soon. All the good ones go too soon.”
Besides being great players who played their roles well on the court, Drexler said of Kersey, Duckworth, and Petrovic “standup, incredible human beings” that the players from those teams miss greatly even today.
For three straight seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers from 1989-1992 won a total of 179 regular season games and were right at the doorstep of being NBA champions. Unfortunately, the back-to-back champion Detroit Pistons denied them in 1990 in five games in The Finals. The Lakers shut the door on their championship dreams in the 1991 Western Conference Finals in five games. Then the eventual six-time NBA champion Chicago Bulls ended their championship hopes in the 1992 Finals in six games.
That Trail Blazers group though laid a template for other small market teams like the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs followed that got them in position to win a title.
They drafted well and signed the right people in free agency and picked the right head coach to lead them. The had their playoff failures that made them better and got them over the hump to get to The Finals. While the Thunder and Jazz never won a title when they got their chance, the Spurs managed in their six chances going back to the 1998-99 strike shortened season won five Larry O’Brien trophies.
The Trail Blazers of 1989-1992 not only won a lot of games but brought an excitement to the city of Portland, also known as “Rip City” and the state of Oregon was a special moment for the players and the fans.
“It’s not about the end of the journey. It’s about the journey itself, and so many times those teammates, those guys I played with that journey was unbelievable,” Porter said of those three seasons at his No. 30 jersey retirement ceremony on Dec. 16, 2008. “To grow as young men. To grow as a team. And to really fight during that journey. That’s what its all about. That’s what playing pro sports is all about. And those are the memories I will take with me.”
“Thank you, the Blazers fans, for always cheering for us. For always coming out and making it special when we stepped on the floor. You guys will always be the best fans for me. I appreciate it so much. ‘Rip City!’”
Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 5/31/2020 8 p.m. NBATV’s “Basketball Stories: Rip City Revival;” “Sporting News’ Official 2006-07 Official NBA Guide;” box scores from https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/1990.html, https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/1991.html, and https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/1992.html; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Portland_Trail_Blazers_seasons; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Duckworth; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Lucas; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Drexler; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Porter; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drazen_Petrovic; https://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bryant_(basketball); https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Williams; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Robinson_(basketball,_born_1966); and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Trail_Blazers#1983-1995.
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