1995–96 Portland Trail Blazers season

1995–96 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coach	P.J. Carlesimo
Arena	Rose Garden Arena
Results
Record	44–38 (.537)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (eliminated 2–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1995–96 season was the 26th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] After spending their first 25 years at the Memorial Coliseum, the Blazers began playing at the new Rose Garden Arena this season. The Blazers struggled through most of the season posting a 26-34 record around March 5th. However, they went on to win 18 of their final 22 games to finish the season with a 44–38 record. Fourth in the Pacific Division and sixth in the Western Conference, making their 14th straight trip to the postseason and 19th in 20 years. In the playoffs, the Blazers were knocked out in the first round again losing to the Utah Jazz in five games.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	8	Shawn Respert	SG	United States	Michigan State

Roster

Portland TrailBlazers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 12 Childress, Randolph 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Wake Forest C 24 Dudley, Chris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Yale PF 44 Grant, Harvey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oklahoma SG 23 McKie, Aaron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Temple SF 3 Robinson, Clifford 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Connecticut SG 26 Robinson, James 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Alabama PG 21 Robinson, Rumeal 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Michigan C 11 Sabonis, Arvydas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 279 lb (127 kg) Lithuania C 27 Spencer, Elmore 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) UNLV PG 1 Strickland, Rod 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) DePaul PF 33 Trent, Gary 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Ohio PF 52 Williams, Buck 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Maryland SF 10 Wingfield, Dontonio 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Cincinnati	Head coach P. J. Carlesimo (Fordham) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	64	18	.780	–	38–3	26–15	21–3
x-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	11	30–11	23–18	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	20	26–15	18–23	11–13
x-Phoenix Suns	41	41	.500	23	25–16	16–25	9–15
x-Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	25	26–15	13–28	11–13
Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28	23–18	13–28	7–17
Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35	19–22	10–31	7–17

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Seattle SuperSonics	64	18	.780	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	59	23	.720	5
3	x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	9
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	11
5	x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	16
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	20
7	x-Phoenix Suns	41	41	.500	23
8	x-Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	25
9	Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28
10	Denver Nuggets	35	47	.427	29
11	Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35
12	Dallas Mavericks	26	56	.317	38
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	26	56	.317	38
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	15	67	.183	49

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

West First Round

(3) Utah Jazz vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers Last Playoff Meeting: 1992 Western Conference Finals (Portland won 4-2)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (UTAH-POR)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 25	Utah	110	Portland	102	1-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	1	TBS 9:30et
2	April 27	Utah	105	Portland	90	2-0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	2	TNT 10:30et
3*	April 29	Portland	94	Utah	91	2-1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	3	TNT 10:30et
4	May 1	Portland	98	Utah	90	2-2	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	4	TNT 9:30et
5	May 5	Utah	102	Portland	64	3-2	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	5	NBC 3:00et
Utah wins series 3–2

*Required overtime

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

Awards and honors

• Arvydas Sabonis, All-NBA Rookie First Team

References

1. 1995-96 Portland Trail Blazers