1984–85 Portland Trail Blazers season

1984–85 Portland Trail Blazers season
1984–85 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coach	Jack Ramsay
General manager	Stu Inman
Owner(s)	Larry Weinberg
Arena	Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	42–40 (.512)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific); Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference Semi-finals; (lost to Lakers 1–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KOIN
Radio	KEX
< 1983–84	1985–86 >

The 1984–85 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 15th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Offseason

NBA draft

At the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden, fans in attendance booed the Blazers selection of Sam Bowie.^[1] Part of the problem was that some had perceived Bowie as damaged goods. In September 1981, while at the University of Kentucky, Sam Bowie was diagnosed with having a fractured shin bone in his left leg. This was previously misdiagnosed as a shin splint.^[2] Bowie would not play for Kentucky until the 1983–84 season. Prior to the diagnosis, Bowie averaged 17.1 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game in 1980–81. At that time there were serious discussions about Bowie entering the 1981 NBA Draft. Bowie was so highly thought of, that he was named to the 1980 US Olympic Basketball Team.^[2] When Bowie returned from his injury in 1983, he would average 10.5 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game.^[2] The Blazers general manager Stu Inman had made it known that if Sam Bowie passed the Blazers physical examination, he would be drafted by the Blazers.^[3] The Blazers had given Bowie a seven-hour physical to ensure that his leg had recovered from the two-year layoff between 1981 and 1983.^[4] The Blazers criteria in selecting Bowie over Jordan was that the Blazers backcourt already had Clyde Drexler and Jim Paxson. The Blazers felt that they had lacked a true center since Bill Walton left the club, and the hope was that Bowie would be able to fill this role.

Note: This is not a complete list; only the first two rounds are covered, as well as any other picks by the franchise who played at least one NBA game.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	2	Sam Bowie	F/C	United States	Kentucky
1	19	Bernard Thompson	G/F	United States	Fresno State
2	26	Victor Fleming	G	United States	Xavier
2	33	Steve Colter	G	United States	New Mexico
2	46	Jerome Kersey	F	United States	Longwood

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
C	30	Bowie, Sam	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Kentucky
F	34	Carr, Kenny	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	NC State
G	20	Colter, Steve	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	New Mexico State
G	22	Drexler, Clyde	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Houston
F	25	Kersey, Jerome	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Longwood
C	24	Norris, Audie	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jackson State
G	4	Paxson, Jim	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Dayton
C	50	Scheffler, Tom	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Purdue
G/F	5	Thompson, Bernard	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fresno State
F/C	43	Thompson, Mychal	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	Minnesota
G	14	Valentine, Darnell	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Kansas
F	55	Vandeweghe, Kiki	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	UCLA

Head coach

Jack Ramsay (Saint Joseph's)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	18–12
x-Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	20	33–8	15–26	17–13
x-Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	26	32–9	10–31	14–16
Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31	31–10	10–31	16–14
Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	31	27–14	10–31	13–17
Golden State Warriors	22	60	.268	40	25–16	5–36	12–18

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	52	30	.634	10
3	x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	14
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	44	38	.537	18
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	20
6	x-Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	21
7	x-San Antonio Spurs	41	41	.500	21
8	x-Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	26

9	Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31
10	Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	31
11	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	31
12	Golden State Warriors	22	60	.268	40

Notes

z, y – division champions
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1984-85 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	1–4	3–3	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–0	0–2	6–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–4	3–3	3–3	0–5	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–3
Boston	4–1	–	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–4	5–1	6–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	5–1
Chicago	3–3	2–4	–	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–3	2–4	4–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–2
Cleveland	3–3	0–6	4–2	–	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–5	2–3	3–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3
Dallas	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	–	2–4	0–2	4–1	2–4	2–0	5–1	3–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	4–1	4–2	5–0	1–5	1–1
Denver	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	–	0–2	5–0	2–4	2–0	4–2	2–3	2–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	4–1	3–3	3–2	4–2	2–0
Detroit	5–1	2–4	3–3	4–1	2–0	2–0	–	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–5	3–2	1–5	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3
Golden State	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	0–5	0–2	–	2–3	0–2	2–3	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	3–3	1–4	1–1
Houston	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	4–2	1–1	3–2	–	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	4–2	3–2	3–3	0–2
Indiana	0–6	1–5	4–2	2–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	2–0	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–5	2–3	2–4	1–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–4
Kansas City	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–1	3–2	1–5	1–1	–	3–2	0–5	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	2–4	3–2	2–4	1–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–1	4–2	3–2	2–0	2–3	–	0–6	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	4–2	1–5	2–3	2–4	3–2	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	3–2	1–1	5–1	4–1	1–1	5–0	6–0	–	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	5–1	5–1	3–2	3–3	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	4–2	4–1	3–3	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	–	3–3	5–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
New Jersey	3–3	1–5	4–2	3–2	1–1	0–2	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	–	6–0	2–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–2
New York	3–3	0–6	2–4	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	4–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	0–6	–	2–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–6
Philadelphia	5–0	3–3	5–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	4–2	4–2	–	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	4–2	1–4	2–0	3–2	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	–	3–3	1–4	5–1	3–2	1–1
Portland	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–4	1–1	4–2	2–3	2–0	2–3	5–1	1–5	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	–	3–2	4–2	3–2	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–3	1–1	4–1	2–4	1–1	4–2	3–2	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–3	–	4–1	1–5	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–5	2–3	1–1	3–3	2–3	2–0	2–3	4–2	3–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–4	–	3–2	2–0
Utah	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	5–1	2–4	2–0	4–1	3–3	0–2	4–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–3	5–1	2–3	–	1–1
Washington	3–3	1–5	2–3	3–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–4	6–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1984–85 game log
Total: 42–40 (home: 30–11; road: 12–29)

October: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 27, 1984	@ Kansas City	W 140–119				Kemper Arena	1–0
2	October 30, 1984	Seattle	W 115–83				Memorial Coliseum	2–0

November: 8–8 (home: 6–2; road: 2–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
3	November 1, 1984	@ Phoenix	L 130–139 (3OT)				Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	2–1
4	November 3, 1984	@ L.A. Clippers	W 131–112				Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	3–1
5	November 4, 1984 7:30 p.m. PST	@ L.A. Lakers	L 116–124	Drexler (23)	Drexler, Thompson (8)	Paxson, Valentine (8)	The Forum 14,148	3–2
6	November 6, 1984	Phoenix	W 116–99				Memorial Coliseum	4–2
7	November 8, 1984	@ Denver	L 125–128				McNichols Sports Arena	4–3
8	November 9, 1984 7:30 p.m. PST	L.A. Lakers	L 126–130	Thompson (28)	Drexler (7)	Valentine (11)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	4–4
9	November 11, 1984	Golden State	W 109–97				Memorial Coliseum	5–4
10	November 13, 1984	Dallas	L 94–101				Memorial Coliseum	5–5
11	November 15, 1984	Utah	W 129–120				Memorial Coliseum	6–5
12	November 16, 1984	@ Seattle	L 89–91				Kingdome	6–6
13	November 18, 1984	L.A. Clippers	W 113–105				Memorial Coliseum	7–6
14	November 20, 1984	New Jersey	W 117–107 (OT)				Memorial Coliseum	8–6
15	November 24, 1984	Chicago	W 141–131				Memorial Coliseum	9–6
16	November 27, 1984	@ Cleveland	W 115–106				Richfield Coliseum	10–6
17	November 28, 1984	@ Detroit	L 113–120				Pontiac Silverdome	10–7
18	November 30, 1984	@ Philadelphia	L 116–126				The Spectrum	10–8

December: 4–9 (home: 3–2; road: 1–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
19	December 1, 1984	@ New York	W 115–93	Madison Square Garden	11–8
20	December 4, 1984	Phoenix	W 112–104	Memorial Coliseum	12–8
21	December 6, 1984	San Antonio	W 113–96	Memorial Coliseum	13–8
22	December 8, 1984	Houston	L 120–127	Memorial Coliseum	13–9
23	December 11, 1984	@ Denver	L 122–123	McNichols Sports Arena	13–10
24	December 13, 1984	@ L.A. Clippers	L 100–106	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	13–11
25	December 14, 1984	@ Golden State	L 92–105	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	13–12
26	December 18, 1984	@ Seattle	L 99–109	Kingdome	13–13
27	December 20, 1984	Kansas City	L 113–118	Memorial Coliseum	13–14
28	December 22, 1984	@ Phoenix	L 108–110	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	13–15
29	December 25, 1984	Golden State	W 106–97	Memorial Coliseum	14–15
30	December 27, 1984	@ San Antonio	L 120–141	HemisFair Arena	14–16
31	December 29, 1984	@ Houston	L 92–108	The Summit	14–17

January: 6–9 (home: 3–4; road: 3–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
32	January 1, 1985	Philadelphia	L 106–111				Memorial Coliseum	14–18
33	January 3, 1985	Seattle	W 123–89				Memorial Coliseum	15–18
34	January 4, 1985 7:30 p.m. PST	@ L.A. Lakers	L 95–120	Drexler (19)	Bowie (10)	Valentine (6)	The Forum 13,513	15–19
35	January 6, 1985	Indiana	W 118–101				Memorial Coliseum	16–19
36	January 8, 1985	Dallas	L 102–108				Memorial Coliseum	16–20
37	January 11, 1985	@ San Antonio	W 123–103				HemisFair Arena	17–20
38	January 13, 1985	@ Dallas	L 101–124				Reunion Arena	17–21
39	January 15, 1985	Houston	W 121–117				Memorial Coliseum	18–21
40	January 18, 1985	@ Utah	L 122–127				Salt Palace Acord Arena	18–22
41	January 19, 1985	Denver	L 120–123				Memorial Coliseum	18–23
42	January 22, 1985	@ Chicago	L 115–123				Chicago Stadium	18–24
43	January 23, 1985	@ Indiana	W 136–104				Market Square Arena	19–24
44	January 27, 1985	@ Boston	L 127–128				Boston Garden	19–25
45	January 29, 1985 7:30 p.m. PST	L.A. Lakers	L 106–122	Thompson (24)	Bowie (13)	Drexler, Valentine (7)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	19–26
46	January 31, 1985	@ Golden State	W 129–109				Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	20–26

February: 7–6 (home: 6–2; road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
47	February 1, 1985	San Antonio	L 93–104	Memorial Coliseum	20–27
48	February 2, 1985	Milwaukee	L 95–105	Memorial Coliseum	20–28
49	February 5, 1985	Utah	W 126–106	Memorial Coliseum	21–28
50	February 7, 1985	New York	W 133–122	Memorial Coliseum	22–28
All-Star Break
51	February 12, 1985	Boston	W 111–103	Memorial Coliseum	23–28
52	February 15, 1985	Washington	W 93–89	Memorial Coliseum	24–28
53	February 17, 1985	Kansas City	W 115–96	Memorial Coliseum	25–28
54	February 19, 1985	@ Kansas City	L 96–116	Kemper Arena	25–29
55	February 20, 1985	@ Dallas	L 98–104	Reunion Arena	25–30
56	February 22, 1985	@ Houston	L 103–117	The Summit	25–31
57	February 24, 1985	@ San Antonio	W 137–121	HemisFair Arena	26–31
58	February 26, 1985	L.A. Clippers	W 110–99	Memorial Coliseum	27–31
59	February 28, 1985	@ Golden State	L 120–124	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	27–32

March: 10–6 (home: 6–1; road: 4–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
60	March 1, 1985	Cleveland	L 103–111				Memorial Coliseum	27–33
61	March 3, 1985	Utah	W 121–93				Memorial Coliseum	28–33
62	March 5, 1985	@ Atlanta (at New Orleans, LA)	W 100–91				Lakefront Arena	29–33
63	March 6, 1985	@ Washington	L 121–127 (2OT)				Capital Centre	29–34
64	March 8, 1985	@ New Jersey	W 128–110				Brendan Byrne Arena	30–34
65	March 10, 1985	@ Milwaukee	L 94–110				MECCA Arena	30–35
66	March 12, 1985	@ Kansas City	L 114–120				Kemper Arena	30–36
67	March 15, 1985	Golden State	W 126–101				Memorial Coliseum	31–36
68	March 17, 1985	Atlanta	W 114–101				Memorial Coliseum	32–36
69	March 19, 1985	Detroit	W 143–123				Memorial Coliseum	33–36
70	March 21, 1985	@ Phoenix	L 104–114				Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	33–37
71	March 23, 1985	L.A. Clippers	W 126–123				Memorial Coliseum	34–37
72	March 25, 1985	@ L.A. Clippers	W 120–99				Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	35–37
73	March 26, 1985 7:30 p.m. PST	L.A. Lakers	W 116–113 (OT)	VanDeWeghe (21)	Thompson (9)	Drexler (9)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	36–37
74	March 29, 1985	@ Seattle	W 125–99				Kingdome	37–37
75	March 30, 1985	@ Denver	L 117–129				McNichols Sports Arena	37–38

April: 5–2 (home: 5–0; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
76	April 2, 1985	Houston	W 127–113				Memorial Coliseum	38–38
77	April 5, 1985	Seattle	W 145–120				Memorial Coliseum	39–38
78	April 7, 1985 12:30 p.m. PST	@ L.A. Lakers	L 116–124	VanDeWeghe (24)	Bowie (20)	Drexler (13)	The Forum 13,186	39–39
79	April 9, 1985	Phoenix	W 116–100				Memorial Coliseum	40–39
80	April 11, 1985	@ Utah	L 107–145				Salt Palace Acord Arena	40–40
81	April 12, 1985	Dallas	W 131–111				Memorial Coliseum	41–40
82	April 14, 1985	Denver	W 117–112				Memorial Coliseum	42–40

1984–85 schedule

Playoffs

1985 playoff game log

First round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 18, 1985	@ Dallas	L 131–139 (2OT)	VanDeWeghe (25)	Bowie (14)	Valentine (13)	Reunion Arena 17,007	0–1
2	April 20, 1985	@ Dallas	W 124–121 (OT)	VanDeWeghe (27)	Bowie (20)	Drexler (12)	Reunion Arena 17,007	1–1
3	April 23, 1985	Dallas	W 122–109	VanDeWeghe (24)	Bowie (11)	Drexler (10)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	2–1
4	April 25, 1985	Dallas	W 115–113	VanDeWeghe (27)	Carr (10)	Valentine (9)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	3–1

Conference Semi-finals: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 27, 1985 12:30 p.m. PST	@ L.A. Lakers	L 101–125	Colter (26)	Carr (10)	Colter (8)	The Forum 17,505	0–1
2	April 30, 1985 7:30 p.m. PDT	@ L.A. Lakers	L 118–134	VanDeWeghe (23)	Carr (12)	Valentine (9)	The Forum 17,505	0–2
3	May 3, 1985 7:30 p.m. PDT	L.A. Lakers	L 126–130	VanDeWeghe (27)	Drexler (11)	Drexler (14)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	0–3
4	May 5, 1985 12:30 p.m. PDT	L.A. Lakers	W 115–107	VanDeWeghe, Thompson (17)	Thompson (10)	Drexler (10)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	1–3
5	May 7, 1985 7:30 p.m. PDT	@ L.A. Lakers	L 120–139	Kersey (18)	Carr (11)	Drexler (12)	The Forum 17,505	1–4

1985 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team

References

^ Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.171, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0
^ ^a ^b ^c Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.33, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0
^ Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.130, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0
^ Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.172, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0

[1] Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.171, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0

[autogenerated1-2] Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.33, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0

[3] Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.130, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0

[4] Tip-Off, How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever, Filip Bondy, p.172, Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

See also

References