Only six teams have more wins than Portland’s NBA franchise. The Trail Blazers have made twenty seven playoff appearances in forty seasons, good for a 67.5% of seasons resulting in the postseason, including one NBA championship (1977). Throughout their years of success, they have managed through savvy trades and the occasional bad season to pick at the top of the draft. For all of the high percentages the team has recorded in the win column, their luck has been extraordinarily low to the point of apocalyptic results when selecting high.

Bill Walton was drafted number one overall by the Portland Trail Blazers and was considered by most to be the great white hope. After having as successful as a college career as one could ask for, his first two NBA seasons were plagued by injury. This resulted in the Blazers missing the playoffs both years. It In the 1977 season, Walton was healthy enough to play 65 games and,  in conjunction with head coach Jack Ramsay, the Trail Blazers became an elite team in the NBA. Walton led the NBA in both rebounds and blocks per game that season, and he was selected to his first All-Star Game. Unsurprisingly, he could not participate due to an injury. Walton was named to the NBA’s First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA Second Team for his regular season performance. In the playoffs, Walton and the Blazers swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals, and eventually the NBA title over a more talented Philadelphia 76ers. Walton was named the MVP of the finals.

The following year, the Blazers won 50 of their first 60 games before Walton suffered a broken foot in what turned out to be a serious flaw in the design of his body. He still managed to win the league MVP that year, and played in his only All-Star Game. In addition, he was in First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA First Team. Walton returned for the playoffs, but was injured in the second game of a series against Seattle. Without Walton, Portland lost the series to Seattle in six games. After years of disappointment highlighted only by the championship season, Walton never suited up for the Blazers again. Walton demanded a trade, based on alleged insufficient treatment of his injuries by the Blazers’ organization He protested the 1979 season and would leave Portland afterward. His only other notable season was as a sixth man with the Boston Celtics in their 1986 championship season, but is considered to be the biggest disappointment for his talent in NBA history. He would only play 468 out of a possible 820 regular season games in his career, and score an unsightly 6,215 career points. This total is over 4,000 points less than any player on the NBA’s 50th anniversary team, an award Walton indescribably received.

In 1984, Kentucky center Sam Bowie entered the NBA draft. Portland’s drafting of Bowie is often considered to be the worst selection in any draft. Often called the biggest draft bust in NBA history, Bowie is the first name mentioned when the argument of whether teams should draft for need or talent according to current need but to a player’s potential. Bowie was bookended in the draft by Hakeem Olajuwon (#1) and Michael Jordan (#3), as well as future hall of famers Charles Barkley and John Stockton being selected later in the draft.

In his rookie season, Bowie played in 76 games and averaged 10 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, earning NBA All-Rookie team honors. Reminiscent of Walton, injuries would limit Bowie to only 63 games over the next three seasons, including a mere five during the 1987 season. In 1988, injuries would force him to miss the 1988 season in its entirety.  In 1989, Bowie and a draft pick were traded to the New Jersey Nets in for Buck Williams. Bowie’s four seasons in New Jersey were his best, and after two more seasons diminished by injuries for the Lakers, Bowie would retire from professional basketball in 1995.

Over the course of his career, Bowie averaged 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.78 blocks per game. He shot 45.2% of his attempted field goals, and 30.2% of his three-point shots.

In April of 2007, Ohio State center Greg Oden announced that he would enter the 2007 NBA Draft. On June 28, 2007, he was chosen by Portland with the #1 overall pick. Much to the chagrin of the Blazers’ organization, Oden would follow in his predecessor’s injured footsteps.

On September 14, 2007, Oden would be forced to have microfracture surgery on his right knee. He would sadly miss the entire season due to this injury.

While he was selected first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden was still a rookie for the 2008 season because of the knee injury. He entered the season listed at 250 lbs, but Blazers staff reported Oden weighing as high as 290 lbs in July. In his first NBA game, Oden departed from the game after playing only thirteen minutes due to a foot injury. He returned to action after two weeks on November 12, 2008, and scored his first NBA points against Miami. With promise on the horizon, Oden scored a career-high 24 points in addition to 15 rebounds in a 102–85 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. As expected, In February 2009, he injured his left knee in a game against when his knee collided with opponent Corey Maggette. His knee cap had bone chips and caused an additional three weeks to be lost.

In 2009, Oden equaled his career high for points in a game again with 24. He would set a new high for rebounds in a game with 20 on December 1st.  Just as the spirits of Blazers’ fans were on the rise, Oden injured his left knee in the first quarter on December 5th. He left the court on a stretcher and required surgery for a fractured left patella, ending his season.

To make matters worse, Portland’s latest centerpiece has naked photos of himself floating around the Internet. Oden claims the pictures were taken with his cell phone and sent to an ex girlfriend. The pics were allegedly taken 1 1/2 years ago. In a recent press statement, Oden said ‘I would like to apologize to everybody: Portland, the fans, the organization. It was very embarrassing.’

Embarrassing is an adequate expression for the Blazer’s selection of bigs over the past 35 years. While still a playoff team without him, any NBA fan must wonder what his future with Portland will actually be, or as with his forefathers, if they must learn to play without him. Nude photos can be found here.

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