Head coach Mike Dunleavy Record 59–23 (.720) | Arena Rose Garden Arena | |
Place Division: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 3rd (Western) Playoff finish West Finals
(eliminated by Lakers 3–4) | ||
The 1999–2000 season was the 30th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During the offseason, the Blazers acquired All-Star forward Scottie Pippen from the Houston Rockets and Steve Smith from the Atlanta Hawks, while signing free agent Detlef Schrempf. Portland went 59–23, which tied them for the second-highest win percentage in franchise history. Finishing second in the Pacific Division, they earned the third seed in the Western Conference on the basis that the 55–27 Utah Jazz won the Midwest Division title. (However, the Blazers enjoyed homecourt advantage over Utah in their second-round playoff series). The Blazers made the playoffs for the 18th consecutive year. Rasheed Wallace was selected to play in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game.
Contents
- Offseason
- Draft picks
- Western First Round
- Western Conference Semifinals
- Western Conference Finals
- Awards and honors
- References
In the playoffs, the Blazers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 3–1 in the first-round and the Jazz 4–1 in the second round. In the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, they came back from a 3–1 series deficit to force Game 7.
Up by 15 points with ten minutes remaining in Game 7, the Blazers suffered a 15–0 run by Los Angeles that tied the score, and the Lakers pulled out an 89–84 victory to advance to the 2000 NBA Finals. Following the season, Jermaine O'Neal was traded to the Indiana Pacers, and Brian Grant was dealt to the Miami Heat.
The Blazers did not win another series until May 2, 2014, when Damian Lillard hit a 3-point shot with 0.9 seconds left to beat the Houston Rockets 99–98 in Game 6 of the first round of the 2014 playoffs.
With the exception of Rasheed Wallace, the team's season roster is featured in the video games NBA 2K16 and NBA 2K17.
Offseason
Although the Trail Blazers did not have any picks in the 1999 NBA draft, they were active during the offseason. On draft day, the Blazers purchased the draft rights to Roberto Bergersen from the Atlanta Hawks. Bergersen would not sign with the team; instead, he signed with the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Association. On August 2, the Blazers traded Jim Jackson and Isaiah Rider to the Hawks for Ed Gray and Steve Smith. The same day, the Blazers signed veteran forward Detlef Schrempf. Smith would be the starting shooting guard on the "Jail Blazers". Schrempf would finish his career with Portland, retiring in 2001.
On October 2, the Blazers were involved in a seven-player trade with the Houston Rockets. In the trade, the Blazers traded six players—Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw, and Walt Williams—for Scottie Pippen. Pippen would be the Blazers' starting small forward until 2003, when he signed with the Chicago Bulls, the team which he spent the majority of his career with. On October 5, the Blazers signed Antonio Harvey, and the following day, they signed Joe Kleine. On October 12, the Rockets waived Augmon, and the Blazers signed him on October 18.
Draft picks
The Blazers owned no picks in the 1999 NBA draft.
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spotWestern First Round
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)
Western Conference Semifinals
(2) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Western Conference Semifinals (Portland won 4-2)
Western Conference Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers Last Playoff Meeting: 1998 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-1)