Portland Trail Blazers’ Draft History (2006-2015)

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor

Over the past 10 NBA Drafts (2006-2015), the Portland Trail Blazers have made 29 selections, yielding three All-Stars in Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.

The following table details the Blazers’ track record by tiers, noting the number of All-Stars and starters selected, along with players who either never made the league or were out in five years or less:

Tier Picks All-Star All-Star Appearances Starter* Not in NBA
1-5 2 1 (50%) 5 1 (50%) 0
6-10 3 2 (66.7%) 5 2 (66.7%) 0
11-15 2 0 0 0 0
16-20 1 0 0 0 0
21-25 5 0 0 1 (20%) 4 (80%)
26-30 2 0 0 0 2 (100%)
31-40 7 0 0 0 1 (14.3%)
41-50 2 0 0 0 1 (50%)
51-60 5 0 0 0 4 (80%)
Total 29 3 (10.3%) 10 4 (13.8%) 12 (41.4%)

*Starter criteria determined as an average of 50 or more starts, over at least 40 percent of the player’s career.

The following is the league average over the same tiers:

Tier All-Star Starter Not in NBA
1-5 12 (24%) 30 (60%) 3 (6%)
6-10 8 (16%) 30 (60%) 7 (14%)
11-15 2 (4%) 12 (24%) 8 (16%)
16-20 3 (6%) 10 (20%) 8 (16%)
21-25 2 (4%) 8 (16%) 15 (30%)
26-30 1 (2%) 5 (10%) 20 (40%)
31-40 1 (2%) 11 (11%) 52 (52%)
41-50 2 (2%) 8 (8%) 70 (70%)
51-60 1 (1%) 1 (1%) 87 (87%)
Total 32 (5.3%) 115 (19.7%) 270 (45.0%)

The Blazers were set-back by injuries with high picks Greg Oden and Brandon Roy.  Roy was quickly, but briefly, an All-Star.  Despite 29 picks, the Blazers have found just four starters – and three are gone. With that said, C.J. McCollum is track to be their fifth.

Note that players are included with the team through any draft-day trades.  Some teams pick well but let an eventual starter leave for another, but that’s beyond the scope of this article.  Recently drafted players have yet to officially pass the “at least five years” test, but were considered as such if on a team’s roster by the end of the 2015-16 season.

Additionally, recent picks who have yet to join the NBA may still do so, but for this analysis are considered “out.”

Pick History 2006-2015

All-Stars: LaMarcus Aldridge (2006-2), Brandon Roy (2006-6), Damian Lillard (2012-6)

Starters: Aldridge, Roy, Nicolas Batum (2008-25), Lillard

Rotation Players: Greg Oden (2007-1), Josh McRoberts (2007-37), Jerryd Bayless (2008-11), Jeff Ayres (2009-31), Dante Cunningham (2009-33), Patrick Mills (2009-55), Luke Babbitt (2010-16), Meyers Leonard (2012-11), Will Barton (2012-40), C.J. McCollum (2013-10), Allen Crabbe (2013-31), Jeff Withey (2013-39), Pat Connaughton (2015-41)

Out in Five Years or Less: Joel Freeland (2006-30), Rudy Fernandez (2007-24), Petteri Koponen (2007-30), Taurean Green (2007-52), Victor Claver (2009-22), Elliot Williams (2010-22), Armon Johnson (2010-34), Nolan Smith (2011-21), Jon Diebler (2011-51), Tanguy Ngombo (2011-57), Marko Todorovic (2013-45), Daniel Diez (2015-54)

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.