Proclaim October 19, 2022 to be Portland Trail Blazers Day
Whereas, the City of Portland is honored to champion Portlanders love of RIP CITY, and celebrate the 52nd season for our men’s professional basketball team the Portland Trail Blazers; and
Whereas, the Trail Blazers joined the National Basketball Association in 1970, as an expansion team secured by Founder Harry Glickman, and were led by coach Rolland Todd, aka Mod Todd; and
Whereas, Portland’s beloved moniker “RIP CITY” was coined by the legendary Bill Schonely—the voice of the Trail Blazers from 1970-98—during an electrifying moment at a Trail Blazers game against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 18th, 1971; and
Whereas, the Portland Trail Blazers won the 1977 NBA championship, and three conference titles in 1977, 1990, and 1992; and
Whereas, the Trail Blazers have had an incredible history, with former players such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Geoff Petrie, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Arvydas Sabonis, and Bill Walton, to name a few of the greats; and
Whereas, Paul Allen, owner of the Trail Blazers for 30 years, passed away three days before the start of the 2018 season, but joined the team and RIP CITY in spirit; and
Whereas, Chauncey Billups honorably leads the Trail Blazers as head coach alongside his coaching staff; and
Whereas, point guard Damian Lillard, with an average 24.6 points per game, has been named an All-Star six times in his career and received a gold medal on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo, and was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by the NBA 75th Anniversary Team; and
Whereas, the City of Portland commends the Trail Blazers for the organization’s dedication to positively impacting the community of RIP CITY through the work of the Trail Blazers Foundation, advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work and environmental stewardship; and
Whereas, the Trail Blazers: Blevins, Brown, Dunn, Eubanks, Grant, Hart, Hughes, Johnson, Lillard, Little, Nurkic, Payton, Perry, Simons, Watford, Williams, and Winslow we are immensely proud and grateful for your hard work.
Now, therefore, I, Ted Wheeler, Mayor of the City of Portland, Oregon, the “City of Roses,” do hereby proclaim October 19th, 2022 to be
Portland Trail Blazers Day
in Portland, and encourage all residents to observe this day and tune into the first home game of the season.