The Trail Blazers enter the NBA in 1970 as an growth team; and have played in Portland for the whole time. In 1977 Trail Blazers won their only NBA Championship, though the team has been a usual fixture in the NBA Playoffs since then. The Trail Blazers team was sold to Paul Allen in 1988; in 1990 and 1992 the Blazers higher to the NBA Finals but were defeated both times; first by the Detroit Pistons and then by the Chicago Bulls.

In 1996, broad manager Bob Whitsitt began transformation the Trail Blazers team using players who were talented, but who had dubious attitudes and/or criminal records. This worked originally, as the Trail Blazers team reached the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, but the plan soon backfired on the Blazers as the local society soured on a team better known for its off-court antics than for its on-court abilities. The Trail Blazers team began to be known as the "Jail Blazers". After a series of embarrassing off-court incidents and playoff failures, as well as moribund ticket sales, Whitsitt resigned after the 2003 season.

The current organization has been attempting (with mixed success) to re-connect with the society at large. Most of the players linked with the "Jail Blazers" years are gone, and a new crop of young players is showing assure. However, the Trail Blazers failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2003 and 2004, posting records of 41-41 and 27-55. In July 2005, the Blazers announced the hire of Nate McMillan as their new head basketball coach, ending a several-month-long search. Other candidate for the position included Marc Iavaroni, Terry Porter, and Lionel Hollins.

The Trail Blazers did well in the 2005 NBA Lottery, and won the #3 pick in the 2005 draft. On draft day, however, the team traded the pick to the Utah Jazz for the #6 and #27 picks in the 2005 draft, and a provisional pick in the 2006 draft (belonging initially to the Detroit Pistons). The #3 pick was used by Utah to draft Deron Williams, the Trail Blazers used the #6 pick to draft Martell Webster. The 27th pick was second-hand to draft Linas Kleiza, and the 35th pick (the Blazers' own) was used to draft Ricky Sánchez. Both picks were traded on draft nighttime to the Denver Nuggets #22 pick, Jarrett Jack.

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