Editing Portland Trail Blazers (section)

=== 1974–1979: Bill Walton era ===
In 1974 the team selected number one pick [[Bill Walton]] from [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]]. The [[ABA–NBA merger]] of 1976 saw those two rival leagues join forces. Four ABA teams joined the NBA; the remaining teams were dissolved and their players distributed among the remaining NBA squads in a [[dispersal draft]]. The Trail Blazers selected [[Maurice Lucas]] in the dispersal draft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn more about Maurice Lucas |url=http://www.nba.com/blazers/history/Learn_More_About_Maurice_Lucas-64030-41.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116122922/http://www.nba.com/blazers/history/Learn_More_About_Maurice_Lucas-64030-41.html |archive-date=January 16, 2008 |access-date=September 19, 2018 |website=TrailBlazers.com |publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC}}</ref> That summer, they also hired [[Jack Ramsay]] as head coach.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trail Blazers Legendary Coach Dr. Jack Ramsay passes away at age 89 |url=https://www.nba.com/blazers/trail-blazers-legendary-coach-dr-jack-ramsay-passes-away-age-89 |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=www.nba.com |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Bill Walton and Jack Ramsay.jpeg|180px|thumb|In his first season as the Trail Blazers head coach, [[Jack Ramsay]] led the team to their first playoff berth and eventually [[1977 NBA Finals|the championship]]. [[Bill Walton]] was the [[NBA Finals MVP]].]]
The two moves, coupled with the team's stellar play, led Portland to several firsts: winning record (49–33), playoff appearance, and [[1977 NBA Finals|an NBA championship]] in [[1976–77 NBA season|1977]].<ref name="finals" /> Starting on April 5 of that year, the team began a sellout streak of 814 straight games—the longest in American major professional sports history—which did not end until 1995, after the team moved into a [[Moda Center|larger facility]].<ref name="funding">{{Cite web |year=2003 |title=Company History: Portland Trail Blazers |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Portland-Trail-Blazers-Company-History.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916220945/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Portland-Trail-Blazers-Company-History.html |archive-date=September 16, 2011 |access-date=October 24, 2007 |publisher=Funding Universe}}</ref>

The team started the [[1977–78 NBA season|1977–78 season]] with a 50–10 mark, and some predicted a [[dynasty (sports)|dynasty]] in Portland.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 13, 1978 |title=Going Like Blazers: Portland is not just running away from everybody in the NBA, it's mounting an assault on the record books as well |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1978/02/13/going-like-blazers-portland-is-not-just-running-away-from-everybody-in-the-nba-its-mounting-an-assault-on-the-record-books-as-well/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916143457/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093313/index.htm |archive-date=September 16, 2008 |access-date=April 18, 2009 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref> However, Bill Walton suffered a foot injury that ended his season and would plague him over the remainder of his career, and the team struggled to an 8–14 finish, going 58–24 overall. In the playoffs, Portland lost to the [[Seattle SuperSonics]] in the 1978 conference semifinals.<ref name="breaks">{{Cite book |last=Halberstam |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/breaksofgame00halb |title=The Breaks of the Game |publisher=Ballantine |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-345-29625-2 |author-link=David Halberstam |url-access=registration}}</ref> That summer, Walton demanded to be traded to a team of his choice ([[Los Angeles Clippers|Clippers]], [[New York Knicks|Knicks]], [[Golden State Warriors|Warriors]], or [[Philadelphia 76ers|76ers]]), because he was unhappy with his medical treatment in Portland.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 21, 1978 |title=Off On A Wronged Foot |url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093981/5/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621073727/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093981/5/index.htm |archive-date=June 21, 2009 |access-date=August 20, 2008 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref> Walton was never traded, and he held out the entire [[1978–79 NBA season|1978–79 season]] and left the team as a [[free agent]] thereafter.<ref name="redhot">{{Cite book |last=Love |first=Matt |title=Red Hot and Rollin': A Retrospection of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976–77 NBA Championship Season |publisher=Nestucca Spit Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-9744364-8-7 |location=Pacific City, Oregon |page=119}}</ref> The team was further dismantled as Lucas left in 1980.<ref name="teamhistory" />