1974–75 Portland Trail Blazers season

1974–75 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coach	Lenny Wilkens
Arena	Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	38–44 (.463)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

The 1974–75 season was the fifth season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a 27–55 record the previous season, the Blazers earned the #1 pick in the 1974 NBA Draft, and made perhaps the most important selection in franchise history: Hall of Famer Bill Walton out of UCLA.

In three years of varsity competition, Walton led UCLA to two NCAA championships and 88 consecutive wins, smashing the 60-game streak set by Bill Russell's teams at the University of San Francisco. Walton also set UCLA's career assists record, which left observers declaring him the best passing center in the history of the game.

Injuries would limit Walton to just 35 games in his rookie year, but nevertheless the Blazers challenged for a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. The Blazers fell just two games short with a 38-44 record.

Offseason

The Trail Blazers selected Bill Walton first overall in the 1974 NBA draft.

NBA Draft

Main article: 1974 NBA Draft

Note: This is not a complete list; only the first two rounds are covered, as well as any other picks by the franchise who played at least one NBA game.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	1	Bill Walton	C	United States	UCLA
2	20	Jan van Breda Kolff	G/F	United States	Vanderbilt
2	34	Phil Lumpkin	G	United States	Miami (OH)
2	36	Rubin Collins	G	United States	Maryland-Eastern Shore
4	56	Mickey Johnson	F	United States	Aurora
6	92	Daniel Anderson	G	United States	USC

Regular season

The Trail Blazers played their home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Season Standings

Pacific Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Golden State Warriors C	48	34	.585	-
Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	5
Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	10
Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	16
Los Angeles Lakers	30	52	.366	18

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Golden State Warriors	48	34	.585	–
2	y-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	1
3	x-Kansas City–Omaha Kings	44	38	.537	4
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	5
5	x-Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	8
6	Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	10
6	Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	10
8	Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	16
9	Los Angeles Lakers	30	52	.366	18

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and honors

• Sidney Wicks, NBA All-Star

References

• Blazers on Database Basketball
• Blazers on Reference Basketball