{"id":696754,"date":"2026-04-03T23:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T23:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/696754\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T23:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T23:08:19","slug":"blazers-fans-feeling-bullish-ahead-of-first-postseason-appearance-in-5-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/696754\/","title":{"rendered":"Blazers fans feeling bullish ahead of first postseason appearance in 5 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

With just a handful of games remaining, the Portland Trail Blazers are poised to reach the postseason for the first time since 2021. <\/p>\n

Built on a talented young core, the team has largely exceeded expectations, with a near .500 record and a level of play that some fans say they haven\u2019t seen from the Blazers in years. <\/p>\n

Young players like Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan have brought success on the court and energized the fan base.<\/p>\n

\"Portland<\/p>\n

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) goes to the basket as Portland Trail Blazers new owner Tom Dundon, second from right, watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Portland, Ore.<\/p>\n

Jenny Kane \/ AP<\/p>\n

Ahead of their game Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans, fans outside the Moda Center seemed optimistic about their team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like they\u2019re just having fun,\u201d said Dana Beck of Manzanita Beach. \u201cThey\u2019re meshing like a team and they\u2019re being competitive. They weren\u2019t competitive for four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a far cry from the Blazers\u2019 inauspicious start to the season. After the first game of the season, the FBI arrested head coach Chauncey Billups<\/a> on charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an illegal poker ring. Billups, who the league placed on indefinite suspension, pleaded not guilty to all charges and has a trial slated for November. <\/p>\n

\"Portland<\/p>\n

Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Portland, Ore.<\/p>\n

Jenny Kane \/ AP<\/p>\n

Assistant head coach Tiago Splitter took over the role on an interim basis. Such a disruption could have easily derailed an entire season. But it\u2019s been a year of resilience for this Portland squad. The team has suffered a series of long-term injuries to many of its best players, but it still managed to win more than 40 games for the first time in five seasons. <\/p>\n

And many players appear to have bright futures beyond this year. Avdija was voted to his first All-Star Game and has emerged as a potential face of the franchise. <\/p>\n

Fans have taken notice. Dawson Fair of Happy Valley said, while Blazers fans are a loyal bunch, he\u2019s noticed the community seems more engaged around the team this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s more people talking about it, whether it\u2019s at the workplace or just when we come to a game,\u201d Fair said. \u201cThere\u2019s more people just seeming to be excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blazers also recently finalized the sale of the team to a new ownership group, led by Texas billionaire Tom Dundon. The group also includes venture capitalist Sheel Tyle and Panda Express co-founder Andrew Cherng, among others.<\/p>\n

In his introductory press conference<\/a>, Dundon outlined his expectation that the previous years of struggling and aiming for high draft picks are over. <\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Tom Dundon, one of the new owners of the Portland Trailblazers, speaks during a press conference at the Moda Center, April 2, 2026. <\/p>\n

Kristyna Wentz-Graff \/ OPB<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was fun and that was necessary, but it\u2019s more fun to win,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cHopefully we\u2019ll start creating more habits that \u2026 lead to the kind of winning that I expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

There had been concern about the team\u2019s long-term future in Portland. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last year the 31-year-old Moda Center needed to be replaced. And the franchise has a short-term lease at the facility. <\/p>\n

The Oregon Legislature recently approved $365 million in funding to renovate the Moda Center. The team is seeking an additional $235 million from the city of Portland and Multnomah County.<\/p>\n

During Thursday\u2019s press conference, Tyle dismissed the idea of the team relocating to a different city. Dundon intimated that he would sign a 20-year lease agreement with the city if there are renovations.<\/p>\n

\"Portland<\/p>\n

Portland Trail Blazers new owner Tom Dundon stands with his son and Andrew Cherng, Portland Trail Blazers alternate governor, right, after an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Portland, Ore.<\/p>\n

Jenny Kane \/ AP<\/p>\n

Fan Brandon Meyer of McMinnville said he\u2019s optimistic about the direction of the new ownership, given what he says was a lack of investment in the team in previous years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited for it,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cIt\u2019s been something that I think has needed to change for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Thursday\u2019s game, the new ownership group was announced to cheers from the Moda Center crowd. The Blazers ultimately defeated the Pelicans, 118 to 106<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With just a handful of games remaining, the Portland Trail Blazers are poised to reach the postseason for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":695842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3784],"tags":[7,601,87680,6,687,471,3967,1617],"class_list":{"0":"post-696754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-portland-trail-blazers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-blazers","10":"tag-blazers-sports-portland-metro","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-portland","13":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","14":"tag-portlandtrailblazers","15":"tag-trail-blazers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116343297856993679","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/695842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}