The 2015-16 Portland Trail Blazers weren’t supposed to be a playoff team, let alone win a playoff series. They weren’t supposed to be a .500 team either. Heck, they weren’t even supposed to win 30 games this year. After losing four of five starters in the off-season, expectations (from everyone except the Blazers themselves, of course) were quite low, as Portland was often compared to teams that have recently made a living in the basement of the Western Conference like the Lakers and Timberwolves. In ESPN’s preseason power rankings, the Blazers were ranked 29th by the “expert analysts,” lower than every team other than the Sixers. Proving all of the doubters wrong with a 44-38 regular season record, the Trail Blazers were the most impressive team in the NBA this season, with the only possible exception being the historic 73-9 Golden State Warriors. It was a special season for basketball fans in the Pacific Northwest, one that nobody saw coming.
Last year the Blazers went 51-31 during the regular season, only to be overmatched by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. As soon as the off-season began, general manager Neil Olshey went to work. With its best player, LaMarcus Aldridge, destined to leave as an unrestricted free agent, Portland knew it was in for a summer of change. First came the Nicolas Batum trade on June 24th; Olshey shipped the Blazers former starting small forward to Charlotte in exchange for veteran swingman Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh, the former lottery pick who had just finished up his rookie season. Two days later, the Blazers made a draft day deal with the Brooklyn Nets, giving up their first round pick (24th overall) and Steve Blake in exchange for Mason Plumlee and a second round pick (41st overall). The Nets used the draft selection on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, while the Blazers took Pat Connaughton with the second round pick. With Aldridge and former starting center Robin Lopez both likely gone as free agents, Olshey knew he needed a servicable starting center, and he got exactly that in Mason Plumlee.
Then came free agency, where the Blazers saw three of their remaining starters sign expensive contracts with other teams. Wesley Matthews signed a 4 year, $70 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks, a risky move for the Mavs considering Matthews was recovering from a ruptured achilles. Robin Lopez inked a 4 year, $54 million deal with the New York Knicks, agreeing to play alongside Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis in the New York frontcourt. Shooting guard Arron Afflalo (whom the Blazers acquired at last year’s trade deadline) also left Portland for New York, signing a 2 year, $16 million contract with the Knicks. Then the last, and most important, straw fell, as LaMarcus Aldridge signed a 4 year, $80 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs, joining forces with Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard in pursuit of a championship. Within a span of just a few weeks, the Blazers only had one of their five starters from the previous season remaining – Damian Lillard.
Once the season began, Portland got off to a pretty rough start. By mid-January they were just 15-24, fulfilling the low expectations that everyone in the sports world had given them. Lillard was playing great, and so was C.J. McCollum, but it seemed as if there simply just wasn’t enough talent on the roster to be anything other than a lottery team.
All of that changed during a stretch of 22 games from January to the beginning of March in which the Blazers went 18-4. They were playing better basketball leading up to the All-Star break, bringing their record to a surprising 27-27, but what truly turned the Blazers’ season around was their dominating 137-105 victory over the Warriors on February 19th. They handed the defending champs just their fifth loss of the season in a complete beatdown of the Warriors. In what was the first game since the All-Star break, Damian Lillard dropped 51 points on Steph Curry, sending a message to all the voters who didn’t nominate him for the weekend’s festivities. From this point on, the Blazers season took off and never looked back.
The Trail Blazers rode their magical season into the playoffs, where they faced off against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. After dropping the first two games of the series, Portland went on to win the next four, upsetting the Clippers in six games. While it was an incredible feat for the Blazers to win a playoff series in a year that they were supposed to be watching the playoffs from their couches, they did get plenty of help from the injury bug. Both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul missed the final two games for the Clippers, helping the Blazers survive and advance. In the second round, the Blazers’ magic ran into the Warriors’ dominance, falling in five games to the NBA title favorites.
In the 2015-16 season, Damian Lillard proved to be a symbol for what this Blazers team stood for all season long – he’s fearless, aggressive, humble, and best of all, he’s an underdog. Lillard’s leadership was remarkable, something unprecedented for a player who’s just 25 years of age. While the rest of the NBA slept on Lillard and his teammates, he continued to grind, lead, and improve, earning a top 10 finish on the MVP ballot.
Neil Olshey surrounded Lillard with a bunch of unproven misfits who hadn’t made a name for themselves in the NBA quite yet. When looking at the Blazers roster, the most pleasant surprise was clearly C.J. McCollum, the winner of this year’s Most Improved Player award. The former Lehigh standout averaged just 15.7 minutes and 6.8 points per game in 2014-15. This season, he soared to new heights, averaging 20.8 points per game in 34.8 minutes of action each night. McCollum developed into one of the NBA’s best scorers, combining with Lillard to form the second best backcourt in the league (it’s hard to catch up to the Splash Brothers). Without McCollum’s emergence as a go-to option, Portland would likely be stuck where everyone expected them to be – the lottery.
Even though C.J. McCollum was the most important Trail Blazer not named Damian Lillard, he wasn’t the only player who stepped up big time this season. A trio of small forwards, two of whom were acquired this past off-season, proved to be essential to Portland’s success. In 2014-15, Allen Crabbe, Al-Faroug Aminu, and Mo Harkless combined for 12.4 points per game. This season? They averaged 26.9 points per game, helping the Blazers establish a scoring threat outside of their elite Lillard-McCollum duo. The production the Blazers got out of these three players was truly incredible, especially considering their unproven track records in the NBA.
It’s tough to remember the last time a team in the NBA that was expected to be so bad turned out to be so good. So much praise has to be given to the front office and coaching staff for putting together a roster of unproven, cheap players and making it work. Acquiring Mo Harkless for a second round pick, on top of the Mason Plumlee trade and Al-Faroug Aminu signing, was vital for this season’s success. On the sidelines, head coach Terry Stotts’ ability to get the most out of his players and create a culture of fearlessness, hunger, and motivation was unmatched in the NBA. Stotts did an outstanding job this season, finishing second in the voting for Coach of the Year, just behind Steve Kerr of the Warriors.
There were countless times that fixtures in the media, in addition to the common fan at home, claimed the Blazers didn’t have enough talent or experience to compete this year. All of the harsh comments from the media doubting this team’s ability to win served as motivation for Damian Lillard and company to prove everyone wrong each night. Instead of marching towards a high lottery pick, the Blazers marched into the Western Conference Semifinals. It was a special season for Rip City, one that shouldn’t be forgotten. The 2015-16 Portland Trail Blazers were a remarkable story, proving the power of heart, toughness, and determination.
