1970–71 Portland Trail Blazers season


The Portland Trail Blazers were one of three new teams to join the NBA for the 1970–71 season. The franchise played its inaugural regular season game on a Friday night in Portland, beating the fellow expansion Cleveland Cavaliers 115–112 on October 16, with 4,273 in attendance.
Portland finished last in the Pacific Division with a record of. Of the three expansion teams, their record was the best; with seven more wins than the Buffalo Braves and fourteen more than the Cavaliers. The leading scorer for the Blazers was Geoff Petrie; he averaged 24.8 points per game and shared Rookie of the Year honors with Boston Celtics star Dave Cowens.

Offseason

NBA Draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
18Geoff PetrieSGPrinceton
225Walt GilmorePFFort Valley State
342Bill CainIowa State
459Jim PenixBowling Green
576Ron KnightPFCal State LA
693George JankyDayton
7110Claude EnglishFRhode Island
8127Doug BoydTCU
9144Billy GaskinsOregon
10161Israel OliverElizabeth City State
11176Don McClemoreBowling Green
12188Paul AdamsCentral Washington
13199Alex BoydNevada-Reno
14208Frank LoteridgeTexas–Pan American
15218John CanadyMiami
16226Doug WilliamsSt. Mary's
18235Bruce ButchkoSouthern Illinois
19239Mark GabrielHanover

Expansion Draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Awards and honors