Ahead of Game 3 on Friday at the Moda Center, the popular basketball store “Back to the Basket” is getting a fresh look — one that longtime Portland fans may instantly recognize.
Store owners have recovered the original metal basketball that once hung above the iconic 1990s shop “Blazers on Broadway,” bringing a nostalgic piece of Trail Blazers history back into the spotlight. The find marks a meaningful moment for both the store and the city’s passionate fan base.
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Owner Troy Douglass says tracking down the ball was a mission years in the making.
“Between 1991 to 1998, it’s just something that’s really special, especially for its Blazer fans,” Douglass said.
He eventually came across the piece in an unexpected place: Facebook Marketplace.
“It was a listing that said ‘Just Listed,’ and I’m always looking for Blazer stuff, just scouring for my own interest and also for the store,” he said. “And I seen it, and I messaged the guy, and he said it was available. I called up my dad because he’s got a big old construction van, and I figured that if my dad could do it, we could get it today — and so we got it the same day.”
For Douglass, bringing the ball home feels personal.
“I’m a huge Blazer fan and having this kind of — just feels like a lot of joy for me personally,” he said. “But I think for people to see it again, that’s the biggest thing. Especially that we have a store that is very basketball centric; it’s very Blazer centric.”
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Douglass says the ball will be installed atop the store on Wednesday, April 22 at 10 a.m. — lifted into place with a crane just in time to energize fans ahead of the big game.