1985–86 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1985–86 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 16th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Blazers finished 40–42, sixth in the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Despite their losing record, the Blazers were the only team to defeat the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics at the Boston Garden during the regular season; the Celtics went 40–1 at home, a record that was unmatched until the San Antonio Spurs in the 2015-16 season.

In the 1986 NBA Playoffs, the Blazers were defeated by the Denver Nuggets in their first-round, best-of-five playoff series, three games to one.

Draft picks

Main article: 1985 NBA draft

Note: This is not a complete list; only the first two rounds are covered, as well as notable post-second round picks.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	24	Terry Porter	G	United States	Wisconsin–Stevens Point
2	25	Mike Smrek	C	United States	Clemson
2	39	George Montgomery		United States	Illinois

Roster

1985–86 Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
C	31	Bowie, Sam	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1961-03-17	Kentucky
F	34	Carr, Kenny	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1955-08-15	NC State
G	20	Colter, Steve	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1962-07-24	New Mexico State
G	22	Drexler, Clyde	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1962-06-22	Houston
F	00	Johnson, Ken	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1962-11-07	Michigan State
C	27	Jones, Caldwell	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	1950-08-04	Albany State
F	25	Kersey, Jerome	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1962-06-26	Longwood
F	21	Martin, Brian	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	212 lb (96 kg)	1962-08-18	Kansas
G	4	Paxson, Jim	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1957-07-09	Dayton
G	30	Porter, Terry	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1963-04-08	UW–Stevens Point
C	43	Thompson, Mychal	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	1955-01-30	Minnesota
F	55	Vandeweghe, Kiki	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1958-08-01	UCLA

Head coach

Jack Ramsay

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Roster
Last transaction: May 6, 1986

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–	35–6	27–14	23–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	40	42	.488	22	27–14	13–28	18–12
Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	30	23–18	9–32	16–14
Los Angeles Clippers	32	50	.390	30	22–19	10–31	10–20
Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31	24–17	7–34	11–19
Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	32	24–17	6–35	12–18

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Houston Rockets	51	31	.622	11
3	x-Denver Nuggets	47	35	.573	15
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	44	38	.537	18
5	x-Utah Jazz	42	40	.512	20
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	40	42	.488	22
7	x-Sacramento Kings	37	45	.451	25
8	x-San Antonio Spurs	35	47	.427	27

9	Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	30
10	Los Angeles Clippers	32	50	.390	30
11	Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31
12	Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	32

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1985-86 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	0–6	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	4–2	5–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4
Boston	6–0	–	5–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	4–2	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1
Chicago	1–5	1–5	–	3–3	0–2	2–0	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4
Cleveland	2–4	1–5	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–5	0–2	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–5	3–3	4–1	0–6	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	–	3–3	0–2	4–1	1–5	2–0	2–3	1–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–3	3–3	4–2	3–2	5–1	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	–	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	4–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	3–3	3–3	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	2–4	1–4	4–2	5–1	2–0	1–1	–	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	4–2	4–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–2
Golden State	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	–	0–5	1–1	5–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–5	2–3	2–3	2–4	2–3	1–1
Houston	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	3–3	1–1	5–0	–	2–0	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	3–2	4–2	5–1	3–2	3–3	2–0
Indiana	1–5	1–5	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	–	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–3	2–4	0–6	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–5	2–3	0–2	–	2–4	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	5–0	1–4	3–3	3–2	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–3	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	4–2	–	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	6–0	5–0	4–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	0–5	5–1	5–1	2–0	0–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	–	4–2	6–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
New Jersey	2–4	2–4	3–2	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	–	5–1	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–4
New York	1–5	1–5	2–4	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	4–2	0–2	1–1	0–6	1–5	–	0–6	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3
Philadelphia	1–4	2–4	5–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	6–0	2–0	0–2	1–4	4–2	6–0	–	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–4	2–0	4–2	2–3	1–1	4–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	–	2–4	2–3	3–2	5–1	1–4	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	2–0	4–2	0–6	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–2	–	3–2	1–4	5–1	2–3	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	2–0	3–2	2–4	2–0	0–5	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–3	–	5–1	5–0	2–4	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–3	1–1	3–2	1–5	1–1	4–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	4–1	1–5	–	2–3	2–4	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	0–2	4–2	2–3	0–2	3–3	2–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–5	0–5	3–2	–	2–3	1–1
Utah	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–5	3–3	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	2–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	4–2	4–2	3–2	–	1–1
Washington	4–1	1–5	4–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–0	0–2	2–4	4–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1985–86 game log
Total: 40–42 (home: 27–14; road: 13–28)

October: 2–1 (home: 2–0; road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 25, 1985	Phoenix	W 128–123 (OT)	Memorial Coliseum	1–0
2	October 27, 1985	Golden State	W 116–99	Memorial Coliseum	2–0
3	October 29, 1985	@ L.A. Clippers	L 113–119	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	2–1

November: 10–6 (home: 7–3; road: 3–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
4	November 2, 1985	Utah	W 128–108	Memorial Coliseum	3–1
5	November 3, 1985	New York	W 110–96	Memorial Coliseum	4–1
6	November 5, 1985	@ Houston	L 113–127	The Summit	4–2
7	November 6, 1985	@ Dallas	W 111–109	Reunion Arena	5–2
8	November 8, 1985	Seattle	W 92–88	Memorial Coliseum	6–2
9	November 10, 1985	Cleveland	W 110–107	Memorial Coliseum	7–2
10	November 12, 1985	Sacramento	W 126–115	Memorial Coliseum	8–2
11	November 14, 1985	@ L.A. Lakers	L 102–114	The Forum	8–3
12	November 15, 1985	@ Utah	L 118–133	Salt Palace Acord Arena	8–4
13	November 17, 1985	Milwaukee	L 104–117	Memorial Coliseum	8–5
14	November 19, 1985	New Jersey	L 102–108	Memorial Coliseum	8–6
15	November 21, 1985	@ L.A. Clippers	W 112–108	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	9–6
16	November 23, 1985	L.A. Lakers	L 113–130	Memorial Coliseum	9–7
17	November 24, 1985	Houston	W 125–118	Memorial Coliseum	10–7
18	November 27, 1985	@ Phoenix	W 110–93	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	11–7
19	November 29, 1985	Chicago	W 122–107	Memorial Coliseum	12–7

December: 8–8 (home: 4–1; road: 4–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
20	December 1, 1985	San Antonio	L 106–117				Memorial Coliseum	12–8
21	December 3, 1985	@ Washington	L 111–115				Capital Centre	12–9
22	December 4, 1985 4:30 p.m. PST	@ Atlanta	L 98–109	Colter (20)	Jones (9)	Porter (4)	The Omni 4,113	12–10
23	December 6, 1985	@ Boston	W 121–103				Boston Garden	13–10
24	December 7, 1985	@ New Jersey	L 106–118				Brendan Byrne Arena	13–11
25	December 10, 1985	Golden State	W 94–92				Memorial Coliseum	14–11
26	December 11, 1985	@ Utah	L 111–119				Salt Palace Acord Arena	14–12
27	December 13, 1985	@ Golden State	W 127–124 (OT)				Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	15–12
28	December 17, 1985	@ San Antonio	L 118–126				HemisFair Arena	14–14
29	December 19, 1985	@ Denver	L 118–123				McNichols Sports Arena	15–14
30	December 21, 1985	@ Seattle	W 114–97				Seattle Center Coliseum	16–14
31	December 22, 1985	Denver	W 121–114				Memorial Coliseum	17–14
32	December 25, 1985	L.A. Clippers	W 121–107				Memorial Coliseum	18–14
33	December 27, 1985	@ Dallas	W 142–133 (OT)				Reunion Arena	19–14
34	December 28, 1985	@ Houston	L 108–118				The Summit	19–15
35	December 30, 1985	San Antonio	W 125–110				Memorial Coliseum	20–15

January: 8–7 (home: 4–4; road: 4–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
36	January 1, 1986	Philadelphia	L 119–121 (OT)	Memorial Coliseum	20–16
37	January 3, 1986	Phoenix	W 133–104	Memorial Coliseum	21–16
38	January 5, 1986	Golden State	W 136–120	Memorial Coliseum	22–16
39	January 8, 1986	@ L.A. Lakers	L 121–125	The Forum	22–17
40	January 10, 1986	@ Milwaukee	L 89–95	MECCA Arena	22–18
41	January 11, 1986	@ New York	W 109–106	Madison Square Garden	23–18
42	January 14, 1986	@ Cleveland	W 120–108	Richfield Coliseum	24–18
43	January 15, 1986	@ Indiana	W 109–104	Market Square Arena	25–18
44	January 18, 1986	Phoenix	W 112–87	Memorial Coliseum	26–18
45	January 19, 1986	San Antonio	L 105–116	Memorial Coliseum	26–19
46	January 23, 1986	Seattle	W 117–107 (2OT)	Memorial Coliseum	27–19
47	January 25, 1986	@ Sacramento	W 129–125	ARCO Arena	28–19
48	January 26, 1986	Sacramento	L 116–121	Memorial Coliseum	28–20
49	January 28, 1986	@ Phoenix	L 130–136	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	28–21
50	January 30, 1986	L.A. Lakers	L 94–118	Memorial Coliseum	28–22

February: 1–12 (home: 1–5; road: 0–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
51	February 1, 1986	L.A. Clippers	W 156–121				Memorial Coliseum	29–22
52	February 4, 1986	@ Denver	L 118–119				McNichols Sports Arena	29–23
53	February 6, 1986	Dallas	L 111–115				Memorial Coliseum	29–24
All-Star Break
54	February 11, 1986	Washington	L 116–124				Memorial Coliseum	29–25
55	February 13, 1986	@ L.A. Clippers	L 113–118				Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	29–26
56	February 14, 1986	Boston	L 119–120 (OT)				Memorial Coliseum	29–27
57	February 16, 1986 5:00 p.m. PST	Atlanta	L 101–110	Vandeweghe (21)	Kersey, Thompson (10)	Drexler, Paxson (6)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	29–28
58	February 19, 1986	@ Philadelphia	L 133–153				The Spectrum	29–29
59	February 21, 1986	@ Chicago	L 96–108				Chicago Stadium	29–30
60	February 22, 1986	@ Detroit	L 106–113				Pontiac Silverdome	29–31
61	February 24, 1986	Denver	L 113–119				Memorial Coliseum	29–32
62	February 26, 1986	@ Phoenix	L 112–113				Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	29–33
63	February 27, 1986	@ Seattle	L 94–107				Seattle Center Coliseum	29–34

March: 7–5 (home: 7–0; road: 0–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
64	March 1, 1986	Houston	W 117–112	Memorial Coliseum	30–34
65	March 4, 1986	Indiana	W 102–99	Memorial Coliseum	31–34
66	March 7, 1986	Dallas	W 125–114	Memorial Coliseum	32–34
67	March 8, 1986	Utah	W 104–90	Memorial Coliseum	33–34
68	March 13, 1986	@ Houston	L 118–126	The Summit	33–35
69	March 14, 1986	@ Dallas	L 118–129	Reunion Arena	33–36
70	March 16, 1986	Detroit	W 119–109	Memorial Coliseum	34–36
71	March 18, 1986	@ L.A. Lakers	L 122–128	The Forum	34–37
72	March 21, 1986	Seattle	W 115–108	Memorial Coliseum	35–37
73	March 23, 1986	Sacramento	W 112–102	Memorial Coliseum	36–37
74	March 25, 1986	@ Sacramento	L 99–116	ARCO Arena	36–38
75	March 29, 1986	@ Golden State	L 129–130	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	36–39

April: 4–3 (home: 2–1; road: 2–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
76	April 1, 1986	Denver	W 127–110	Memorial Coliseum	37–39
77	April 2, 1986	@ Seattle	W 121–109	Seattle Center Coliseum	38–39
78	April 5, 1986	@ Utah	L 103–114	Salt Palace Acord Arena	38–40
79	April 8, 1986	L.A. Lakers	L 114–120	Memorial Coliseum	38–41
80	April 10, 1986	L.A. Clippers	W 115–100	Memorial Coliseum	39–41
81	April 11, 1986	@ Golden State	W 131–130	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	40–41
82	April 13, 1986	@ San Antonio	L 118–123	HemisFair Arena	40–42

1985–86 schedule

Playoffs

1986 playoff game log

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

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 18, 1986	@ Denver	L 126–133	Kiki VanDeWeghe (28)	Kenny Carr (9)	Steve Colter (6)	McNichols Sports Arena 13,209	0–1
2	April 20, 1986	@ Denver	W 108–106	Kiki VanDeWeghe (36)	Kenny Carr (11)	Clyde Drexler (8)	McNichols Sports Arena 11,724	1–1
3	April 22, 1986	Denver	L 104–115	Kiki VanDeWeghe (24)	Kenny Carr (15)	Clyde Drexler (7)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	1–2
4	April 24, 1986	Denver	L 112–116	Kiki VanDeWeghe (18)	Kenny Carr (18)	Steve Colter (8)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	1–3

1986 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