MILWAUKEE – 1982: Bill Walton #32 of the Portland Trailblazers looks on against the Milwaukee Bucks circa 1982 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1982 NBAE (Photo by Robert Lewis/NBAE via Getty Images)
For their 50th season in the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers are going to wear some awesome throwback jerseys for a handful of games.
The 2019-20 campaign will be the 50th for the Portland Trail Blazers as an NBA franchise. They’ve already announced the use of a throwback-style floor as part of the celebration, so a throwback jersey was sure to follow at some point.
The Trail Blazers have been a playoff regular throughout their history. But the franchise’s first playoff appearance didn’t come until 1976-77, their seventh season of existence. Led by a first-year head coach named Jack Ramsay and center Bill Walton, they went 49-33 during the regular season, then went 10-0 at home in the playoffs (45-6 at home overall) on their way to the franchise’s first and to this point only championship.
So it would be perfectly appropriate for the 2019-20 Trail Blazers to wear throwback jerseys honoring that title run. On Sunday, after a bike ride on the 1977 championship parade route across town appropriately led by Walton, the throwbacks were unveiled to the world with that year’s Finals MVP providing the dramatic voice-over for the video.
The word “blazers” in lower case letters vertically down the front of the jersey is a fantastic retro, nostalgic look to honor that 1976-77 team. The Blazers will wear the jerseys for their preseason opener on Oct. 8 at Memorial Coliseum, then on all five selected decade night home games during the regular season. Maybe some players will also wear a headband as Walton did during that campaign.
Walton seems sure to be prominent in the Trail Blazers’ celebration of their 50th season, and more specifically as the improbable 1977 title run, he was the star centerpiece of is acknowledged. Maybe he will put a headset on for the television broadcasts, spewing epic lines as he typically does to add a layer to the fun.