1991–92 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1991–92 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 22nd season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Trail Blazers signed undrafted rookie point guard Robert Pack.^[2][3]

The Trail Blazers struggled losing three of their first four games of the regular season, but soon recovered by winning 11 of their next 14 games. The team posted a six-game winning streak between January and February, and held a 32–14 record at the All-Star break.^[4] The Trail Blazers posted a seven-game winning streak in March, and won their second consecutive Pacific Division title with a 57–25 record, which earned them the first seed in the Western Conference;^[5] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the tenth consecutive year.^[1]

Clyde Drexler averaged 25.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, contributed 114 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team. In addition, Terry Porter averaged 18.1 points, 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and led the Trail Blazers with 128 three-point field goals, while Jerome Kersey provided the team with 12.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, sixth man Clifford Robinson contributed 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game off the bench, and Buck Williams provided with 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Meanwhile, Kevin Duckworth averaged 10.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while off the bench, Danny Ainge contributed 9.7 points per game, second-year forward Alaa Abdelnaby provided with 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, Pack contributed 4.6 points per game, and Mark Bryant averaged 4.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.^[6]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, Drexler was selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[7][8][9] Drexler also finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls,^[10][11] while Williams finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[12][11] and head coach Rick Adelman finished tied in ninth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[11]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Trail Blazers faced off against the 8th–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, a team that featured Byron Scott, Sedale Threatt and A.C. Green. The Lakers were without All-Star guard Magic Johnson, who had retired early into the regular season due to his HIV infection,^[13][14][15] and were also without All-Star forward James Worthy, and Sam Perkins due to season-ending injuries. The Trail Blazers won the first two games over the Lakers at home at the Memorial Coliseum, before losing Game 3 on the road in overtime, 121–119 at the Great Western Forum.^[16] Game 4 of the series was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, home of the NCAA's UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team, due to the 1992 Los Angeles riots;^[17][18][19] the Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers, 102–76 to win the series in four games.^[20][21][22] It was the first time that the Trail Blazers won an NBA playoff series over the Lakers since 1977, in which the team won an NBA championship; the Lakers had defeated the Trail Blazers in four playoff series since then, including most recently the 1991 Western Conference Finals.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 4th–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by the All-Star trio of Kevin Johnson, Jeff Hornacek, and sixth man Dan Majerle. The Trail Blazers took a 2–0 series lead before losing Game 3 to the Suns on the road, 124–117 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.^[23] The Trail Blazers won Game 4 over the Suns on the road in double-overtime, 153–151 to take a 3–1 series lead, and then won Game 5 at the Memorial Coliseum, 118–106 to win the series in five games.^[24][25][26]

In the Western Conference Finals, and also for the second consecutive year, the Trail Blazers faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Malone. The Trail Blazers won the first two games over the Jazz at the Memorial Coliseum, but then lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Jazz at the Delta Center, 121–112 as the Jazz evened the series.^[27] After winning Game 5 at the Memorial Coliseum in overtime, 127–121, the Trail Blazers won Game 6 over the Jazz at the Delta Center, 105–97 to win the series in six games, and earn their second trip to the NBA Finals in three years.^[28][29][30]

In the 1992 NBA Finals, the Trail Blazers faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Bulls, who were led by the trio of Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. The Trail Blazers lost Game 1 to the Bulls on the road, 122–89 at the Chicago Stadium, but managed to win Game 2 on the road in overtime, 115–104 to even the series.^[31][32] However, with the series tied at 2–2, the Trail Blazers lost Game 5 to the Bulls at home, 119–106 at the Memorial Coliseum, and then lost Game 6 at the Chicago Stadium by a score of 97–93, thus losing the series in six games, as the Bulls won their second consecutive NBA championship.^[33][34][35]

The Trail Blazers finished 22nd in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 528,408 at the Memorial Coliseum during the regular season.^[6][36] Following the season, Ainge signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns,^[37][38][39] and Pack was traded to the Denver Nuggets.^[40][41]

For the season, the Trail Blazers redesigned their primary logo, which featured their original logo of red and black lines curling into each other, next to the team name "Blazers" in black capitalized letters with red shadows.^[42] The team also redesigned their home and road uniforms, changing the lowercased team name to capitalized letters on the front of their jerseys, and adding a red trim, and their primary logo to the right leg of their shorts; the white home uniforms featured black and red side panels on the left leg of their shorts, while the black road uniforms featured white and red side panels.^[43][44] The team's new primary logo, and new uniforms would both remain in use until 2002.

As of 2026, this was the final season in which the Trail Blazers advanced to the NBA Finals.^[1]