How to Collect | The Portland Trailblazers

Collecting the Blazers

The story of the Portland Trailblazers franchise includes some legendary players, a phenomenal championship team, and a series of squads who spent years contending for the crown. With beloved son Damian Lillard making his return to the franchise to rehab from injury and potentially end his career where it all began, this is a great time to look at how collectors can go about crafting a Portland Trailblazers team collection.

Let’s get into it.

Mount Rushmore

On Portland’s mountainside, we have one of the most talented big men in history, a perennial All-Star wing, a brilliant power forward, and a relentless point guard who reenergized the franchise.

1974 Topps Basketball #39 Bill Walton RC

1993 Topps Basketball #206 Clyde Drexler 

2006 Topps Chrome Basketball #183 LaMarcus Aldridge Gold RC Refractor /25

2024 Topps Chrome Basketball Helix #H-10 Damian Lillard

Early Champions in Portland

After entering the league in 1970, the Trailblazers failed to make the playoffs in any of their first six years. In 1974, the fortunes of the franchise began to flip when the team drafted all-time college basketball great Bill Walton.

After missing almost half of Portland’s games over his first two seasons, the generationally talented big man put it all together in 1976/77, culminating in a dominant Finals MVP performance as he led the Blazers to a championship in their first-ever postseason appearance.

Walton has a series of intriguing vintage Topps cards from his time in Portland, including his coveted rookie card from 1974, and this beauty from 1975, featuring Walton’s glorious locks. One of the most beloved personalities in American sports history, Walton is a perfect centerpiece for vintage Blazers collectors.

While Walton led the way, the Blazers played an exceptional brand of team basketball, as the center’s incredible passing ability helped Portland balance elite ball movement and the ability to play on the break. His size and smarts anchored a fantastic defense that also featured eventual 1978 All-Defensive First Team member and four-time All-Star Maurice Lucas. Johnny Davis and Lionel Hollins are among other key figures in the championship run that would make great additions to any collection commemorating this exciting team.

The next season, the Blazers were even more dominant, starting the season 50-10, but the team fell out of contention when Walton broke his foot. Despite playing only 58 games, Walton won the MVP. The peak was brief, but the championship along with a brilliant style of play keep this team dear to the hearts of Blazers fans. Walton’s peak was also sadly brief, but it showed why he remains one of the most talented basketball players ever.

Blazing into the ’90s

Portland remained solid through the years, making the playoffs in 11 of 12 years, before a 59-win team spearheaded by Clyde Drexler went all the way to the 1990 Finals. Portland would average over 60 wins a year in a three-season span, making it back to the Finals in 1992, when MJ won his second straight championship. 

Drexler was the alpha dog, but a well-balanced team behind the All-Star included Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, and Clifford Robinson, all of whom join Drexler as players for team collectors to chase. Drexler’s 1992 and 1993 Topps Finest cards are chase cards, with the ‘93 Refractor one of his most valuable Topps offerings, selling for over $2,000 in July of 2025.

A Dual with a Dynasty

Portland made the playoffs every year of the ’90s, before working back to the Finals in 2000 with a hard-nosed, highly-skilled, and bruising group featuring Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen, and Steve Smith. The 59-win team rolled through the first two rounds, before battling with Shaq and Kobe at the beginning of another Lakers dynasty. 

The seven-game series is best remembered for Kobe’s famous alley-oop to Shaq, as Los Angeles rallied with a historic fourth quarter to pull out Game 7, but the series remains a classic, and the Blazers team gave as good as anyone in the attempts to keep Shaq and Kobe down. 

While legend Scottie Pippen made his name in Chicago, there are a number of cards from his stay in Portland for collectors to look for, including this fittingly named Instant Impact card from 1999 Topps Chrome.

Fan-Favorite Blazers

One of the greatest European basketball players in history, Arvydas Sabonis was already 30 years old when he came stateside to join the Blazers. While there’s much debate on what Sabonis could have done in the league in his prime, his combination of skill, size, and vision made him a spectacularly fun player to watch. 

Superstars Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge played together for three years, twice leading Portland to 50-win seasons. While Lillard would eventually get the team to a conference finals, both stars are among the most important players in team history, and essential to a Trailblazers team collection.

Capturing History Your Way

Since Bill Walton briefly lit the league on Fire almost fifty years ago, Portland has been defined by an array of entertaining teams and personalities.

With a bright stable of young talent, buoyed by the emotional return of major Hardwood Hobby figure Damian Lillard, there are myriad paths to travel when it comes to collecting the Trailblazers.

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