Editing Portland Trail Blazers (section)

=== 1970–1974: Franchise inception ===
[[File:Sidney Wicks – Trail Blazers (1).jpg|thumb|180px|[[Sidney Wicks]], who played in four NBA All-Star Games while with the Trail Blazers, won the 1971–72 NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 24.5 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game.]]
Sports promoter and Trail Blazers founder [[Harry Glickman]] sought a [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) franchise for [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]] as far back as 1955 when he proposed two new expansion teams, the other to be located in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 18, 1955 |title=Pro hoop aim of local men; Syndicate to seek NBA franchise |work=The Sunday Oregonian |location=Portland, Oregon |page=62}}</ref> When the [[Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Portland, Oregon)|Memorial Coliseum]] was opened in 1960 Glickman saw the potential it could serve as a professional basketball venue but it was not until February 6, 1970, that the NBA board of governors granted him the rights to a franchise in Portland.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Dave |date=May 6, 1985 |title=When the Letters Stopped |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19850506&id=cSkoAAAAIBAJ&pg=5434,2739035 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119073535/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19850506&id=cSkoAAAAIBAJ&pg=5434%2C2739035 |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |access-date=October 5, 2020 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> To raise the money for the $3.7 million admission tax, Glickman associated himself to real estate magnates [[Robert Schmertz]] of New Jersey, [[Larry Weinberg]] of Los Angeles and [[Herman Sarkowsky]] of Seattle.<ref name="original">{{Cite news |last=Eggers |first=Kerry |date=January 31, 2013 |title=The original Trail Blazer |url=http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/127501-the-original-trail-blazer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920162550/https://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/127501-the-original-trail-blazer |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |access-date=March 22, 2013 |work=Portland Tribune}}</ref> Two weeks later, on February 24, team management held a contest to select the team's name and received more than 10,000 entries. The most popular choice was "Pioneers", but that name was excluded from consideration as it was already used by sports teams at Portland's [[Lewis & Clark College]]. The name "Trail Blazers" received 172 entries, and was ultimately selected by the judging panel, being revealed on March 13 in the halftime of a SuperSonics game at the Memorial Coliseum. Derived from the [[trail blazing]] activity by explorers making paths through forests, Glickman considered it a name that could "reflect both the ruggedness of the [[Pacific Northwest]] and the start of a major league era in our state". Despite initial mixed response, the Trail Blazers name, often shortened to just "Blazers", became popular in Oregon.<ref name="birth">{{Cite web |date=April 16, 2021 |title=2020–21 Portland Trail Blazers Media Guide |url=https://www.nba.com/resources/static/team/v2/blazers/pdf/2020-21_BlazerMediaGuide.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624215331/https://www.nba.com/resources/static/team/v2/blazers/pdf/2020-21_BlazerMediaGuide.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |access-date=June 22, 2021 |publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC}} The information can be found on page 12.</ref> While not directly connected, the Portland Trail Blazers do bear the namesake of the [[Salem Trailblazers]] who played in the [[Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League]] (PCPBL).{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Along with the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] and [[Buffalo Braves]] (now [[Los Angeles Clippers]]), the Trail Blazers entered the NBA in [[1970–71 NBA season|1970]] as an expansion team, under coach [[Rolland Todd]]. [[Geoff Petrie]] and [[Sidney Wicks]] led the team in its early years, and the team failed to qualify for the [[NBA playoffs|playoffs]] in its first six seasons of existence. During that span, the team had three head coaches (including future hall-of-famer [[Lenny Wilkens]]); team executive [[Stu Inman]] also served as coach.<ref name="teamhistory">{{Cite web |title=Portland Trail Blazers history |url=http://www.nba.com/blazers/history/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226171400/http://www.nba.com/blazers/history/history.html |archive-date=December 26, 2007 |access-date=September 19, 2018 |website=TrailBlazers.com |publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC}}</ref> The team won the first pick in the [[NBA draft]] twice during that span. In 1972, the team drafted [[LaRue Martin]] with the number one pick.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-06-25 |title=Top 5 Biggest NBA Draft Busts Of All Time - CBS Boston |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/top-5-biggest-nba-draft-busts-of-all-time/ |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>