The Most CURSED Franchise In NBA History 

Is there any sports franchise that has work luck than the Blazers?

One added nugget is that not only did Walton leave because he was upset about treatment, his wife cheated on him with a member of the training staff. This is what sealed his exit.

NOBODY is worse than the Clippers. At least the Blazers got a ring once.

My favorite Blazers anecdote is one year they were so riddled with injuries that once during practice their head coach had to play so they have enough players for scrimmage. He got injured, too. That's some indian burial ground hex.

Seeing Greg Oden makes me sad. He was so dominant and never had a chance to show it.

As a blazers fan, it definitely feels like we haven’t had the best of luck. However, the fact that we have one of the most loyal fan bases in the league makes me very proud to be a blazers fan even when times are difficult. Plus, at least we have one championship

You should've also discussed Sabonis. Yes, Sabonis did end up playing for them but he was 31 with dead knees and just physically broken down. Sabonis was drafted during his prime but of course the Cold War prevented him from going to the NBA much sooner. Imagine a prime Sabonis with those early 90s Rip City teams with Drexler, Kersey and Porter. Maybe it's not unlucky as it was more political, but the Blazers were definitely robbed of one of the most talented centers of all time.

Just remember that KD didn't win championships with the team he was drafted. He had to join a team that was already a championship team.

As a Portlander, THANK YOU! I always call us the Frail Blazers

I miss the Seattle Portland rivalry

I’d add the suns and Orlando to the list too. So many opportunities to win titles that fell to injuries, dominant dynasties. and weird circumstances.

Just to show to you guys how times my favorite team has been unlucky I read the title not seeing the thumbnail and already knew it was the blazers

One more thing... Sabonis was banned to move to US by Soviet during his prime... Those Finals in 90 and 92 can be different with prime Sabonis...

Thank you! As someone who grew up in the 90's early 2000's as a portland fan and native... i completely freaking agree. there comes a point where unless you are watching just to watch hoops, its hard to find reasons to pay attention when we just endlessly lose when it really matters. but i appreciate lillard, he's a loyal dude. hopefully it works out but its hard to believe he will win a title in ptown unfortunately.

I think the Blazers are a respectable organization . You also didn't mention how the Blazers got screwed when drafting Sabonis Russia kept him during his prime , and waited until he was growing old before letting him even start his NBA contract .

Man, Jonny, you're the 🐐 my guy

The Blazers are the most unlucky sports franchise period, you didn’t even mention passing on Moses or not being allowed to have Sabonis all through the 90s which is the biggest one to me, but Damian Lillard has changed it it’s just up to the management to get him the right supporting cast to compete for a title.. might have to be trading Ant for more wing versatility

I really wish that dam would get a ring. He is so great, to be honest, he would be my prototype for a point guard. Drive to paint, deep to unlimited range, clutch, playmaking, iq, damn. A ring would make him great

Jordan and Drexler would have been nice to see....

Another mistake was letting Moses Malone go in the fall of 1976 and keeping Walton. They drafted Moses in the ABA Dispersal Draft that year, but they felt that he was too expensive to keep. However, they messed up because they didn't think it through very well. Walton only played in 50% of the team's games his first two years. Why didn't they trade him instead?

If they could have had Sabonis for Drexler’s peak, I can’t imagine them not getting a few championships from 1988 to 1992.

Breaks my heart when i think about Brandon Roy. You could see he had it but his body let him down

It's funny, in 2007 I wrote a similar article about the curse of the Celtics following the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, career ending injury of Dino Ragja, numerous draft fumbles, and losing out on #1 picks like Tim Duncan and specifically, Greg Oden. Lest we forget, Oden was the consensus number one pick of that draft, seen as the reincarnation of Bill Russell. Then, about a month later the Celtics added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and destroyed my theory... That being said, the Jail Blazers era was my favorite team of all time.

Biggest what IF of Portland is Arvydas Sabonis

I think one thing that could have been added was LaRue Martin. He was picked 2nd overall in the 1972 draft where they could have selected either Bob McAdoo or Dr. J. He ended his scoring what Bill Walton scored his rookie season and is considered one of the biggest busts in NBA history.

It's true. I grew up in the NW as a huge Blazers fan. We truly are cursed (for now). I believe our second championship will come in 2029.

2018-2019 season was also cursed: yeah we lost hard to the warriors, but we had to start players with broken ribs in that series, with both Dame and CJ with back and neck injuries, Kanter only using one arm, and having to make Meyers Leonard the primary option as he was the only one who could state he had a clean bill of health :( I loved that team, but all anyone ever talks about is KD being injured in that series because he missed the finals vs Raptors

I still think the Clippers are the most cursed franchise in the NBA. Existing for 75+ years yet never making it to the finals once, just made it to their first WCF in 2021, MULTIPLE draft busts and bad high picks, injuries to star players, Lob City era going nowhere, blowing 3-1 leads, racist owner, etc.

For a team that’s been considered one of the NBAs more popular teams whether they win or not throughout its history, I think the Knicks have been just as disappointing

Absolutely zero doubt in my mind that game 7 was rigged for the Lakers. I’ve watched it many times now. Many, many hard fouls by Shaq and others that were not called, but Pippen and Sabonis were both fouled out on extremely petty touch-fouls. To this day the worst reffing in the history of sports.

aaah my poor Blazers. Hope is still on though. I truely believe that we have chances in the next 5 years, however it requires coaching and management strategy changes. It's also worth mentioning our run in 2019. We got swepped by GSW in WCF, but watching those games it was much more disappointing then it seems. Portland had significant leads in 3rd qurters of over 15 points in 3 of the 4 games and still managed to lose all of those games.

I would argue the Orlando magic are up there as one of the most cursed franchises as well..From drafting shaq to losing him in his prime to the Lakers who would then go on to win a 3 peat with the lakers just a few years later. To drafting a stud in Penny who would then succumb to injuries, to trading for Grant Hill who was suppose to be just what the doctor ordered as a deadly wing combo with TMac yet also due to ankle injuries never was able to contribute, who was traded for big ben Wallace that went on to win multiple Defensive player of the year awards with the pistons and a championship eventually. Orlando Magic are definitely cursed.

Clippers, Jazz, Timberwolves, Kings are all pretty cursed as well.

The Blazers are my team. The fact that they had Walton and Drexler and went to all those championships, even winning one breaks some of the curse, but yeah they kind of are especially with injuries.

Arvydas Sabonis coming to the league as a old man due to the Soviet Union also sucks. Prime Sabonis was ridiculous. Him and Drexler would've been lethal.

The clippers may be the worst franchise, but the trailblazers are the most cursed and unlucky

What a lot of people don’t know is Sam Bowie (or however you spell it) KNEW he was injured and his body wouldn’t hold up to play basketball, but he wanted money so he pretended he wasn’t hurt. He even has an interview about it. He knowingly fucked the blazers.

FANTASTIC VIDEO, Jonny!!

Ok but if Greg Oden never got injured, we wouldn't be making this video. If you look at every mock draft from that class, all but one had Greg Oden going 1st overall. In other words: HE DESERVED TO GO NUMBER 1. Therefore, yes, even though he was injury riddled, he was the consensus top choice and deserved to go number 1

Maybe Bill Walton was right. Maybe the Blazers always had shitty medical staff which couldn't lessen the effect of injuries. I remember when the Lakers hired Nina Hsieh as athletic trainer and suddenly the injuries piled on and the lakers eventually fired her. Maybe that stuff matters more than we think.

7:44 Dame has his own faults too though for choking in the 2nd round of the playoffs whenever he's gotten there and in the Conference Finals the one time he did get there. He has had his first round heroics but he's also performed terribly himself in the playoffs plenty of times. On top of that, he's not doing himself any favors by not playing defense.

Amazing that you can simultaneously be the team with the longest all-time Playoffs made in a row streak at 23 seasons from 1983-2003, and be the most cursed franchise still.

This reminds me too much of the Sonics. Can you make one of em? I miss my home team dearly 😅 I know there’s probably more cursed out there, but I’d like to hear a take of yours in a video.

Its a mixture of bad luck AND BAD MANAGEMENT! One without the other isnt possible. For example they had 9 healthy Seasons with Dame, but could never build a team arround him that fit his strengths and hide his wheaknesses. They shouldve traded McCollum at least 3 years earlier. And probably even 5 years. And not drafting MJ is still the best evidence that its not just bad luck...

You forgot to mention that the Blazers had LaMarcus Aldridge at same time as Damian Lillard which of course I don't know if they would have had CJ McCollum at the same time as well and then I would have been maybe a very good dual maybe a big 3 at the same time as well

My only push back is the Celtic stat is from the old days. Recently, they have one championship banner from 2008

The Blazers drafted Sabonis in 86 but he didn't play for them until a decade later due to political bs and injuries that robbed him of athleticism. Put a younger healthier Sabonis with Clyde Drexler, Porter, Robinson etc.and they would've been a dynasty that rivaled or surpassed Jordan's Bulls. One of the NBA's greatest what-ifs.

During their streak of 21 consecutive playoff appearances, they got bounced out in the first round 15 times.

Phx: Lillard, Levert, Nurkic, Osman Cavs: Grant, Payton II Blazers: Ayton, CP3, Okoro, Crowder, PHXs unprotected 1sts in '23 &'25, cavs' 2nds in '24(via gsw), '26(via lal), & '28

There are 10 active NBA teams that never won a championship; the Pacers, Nets, Hornets, Jazz, Grizzlies, Suns, Clippers, Pelicans, Timberwolves, and the Nuggets … At least they ain’t on the list! ✨💍✨👈😅👍

You don’t have to live in L.A. to know two words: “Clipper Curse!”

You should talk about the Blazers of this century as more cursed than those of the last century. Even for having drafted two injury-prone centers over two GOATs (Durant's athleticism imo was almost on par with Jordan's, even if the rings tell a different story), the Blazers of last century were able to field a legit title contender every few years (and actually win a title in 1977). The Sheed era may not be as easy to warm up to as Walton and Drexler, but at least they went 94-38 over two seasons and reached the conference finals both years. That was really the last time they had a contender. Every time they've gotten close since then, something has gone horribly wrong (usually a horrific injury or departure). There are several other franchises outside the Lakers and Celtics that have had intermittent title windows whether they were able to capitalize or not, but the Blazers and Knicks of this century have stood out as prime non-examples imo. But then again, champion is a matter of fact; contender a matter of opinion, so yours might be different and I can respect that.

You make it sound like Walton just "felt like" they screwed him over, they 100% did. The team doctor knew he had a broken ankle and told he could get an injection and still play, that nothing would happen to him, he played and was never the same after that.

When taking these parameters to determine the "most cursed" team then I suppose the Suns could be considered as well by now.

I'm ngl when Aldridge was there I thought they had a chance

Yeah now that you mention it most of their stars have been injury prone. Brandon Roy for example.

You completely forgot to mention all the early deaths on those 90s Blazers team. Kevin Duckworth, Jerome Kersey, and Cliff Robinson, RIP. Petrovic rode the bench for those teams, went to New Jersey, then also died.

As a kid my Dad always called Sam Bowie “Sam Blowie” 😂😂 RIP pops 🙏🏼 PS I know this has nothing to do with the video, just brought the memory back

Unluckiest, maybe. Most cursed? No way. You can't be the most cursed if you have a chip, 3 finals and several wcf's

As a kid born and raised in Portland I will NEVER lose hope in my Jail Blazers. Karma will wrap around eventually. Damian Lillard is one of the most honorable superstars in American sports history. We’ll draft another KD or MJ soon 😂 (yeah right)

It started in 1972 when Portland had the #1 pick and took LaRue Martin over Bob McAdoo. Martin lasted 2 or 3 years & did nothing. McAdoo was ROY. League MVP. Multiple time scoring champion. The last man to average 30 & 10. The first stretch big. HOF & member of the 75th anniversary team

I was thinking T wolves at first. That Bowie over MJ is so bad in hindsight. Made so much worse because MJ played PG for a small stretch and was absolutely dominant, just imagine MJ at point and Glide at SG.

With the Clippers' recent string of injury history with Kawhi and PG, they have to be among the most cursed NBA franchises, even more so than the Blazers.

Just 4 names: Dame Dolla, Roy, LA and Oden. But that young core never have the chance to take the league by a storm.

To miss out on two of the greats hurts. It cuts deep

To be fair the author also forgot to mention the 1st Draft Portland hand when they selected LaRue Martin over some guy named Julius Erving, but wait it gets better the Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan and then they did it again with Greg Odin over Kevin Durant. I mean the franchise even worked out Durant told him he was going to be an Allstar player and passed on him. If the draft has taught us anything in Portland it is to pick the 2nd guy FFS not the #1. I remember the meltdown of the year 2000 game 7 game vividly and the Jail Blazer era that followed. Portland still to this day goes on these bizarre scoring droughts where we couldn't buy a bucket to save our lives at a crucial point in games. Year after year we keep getting the 7th or 8th seed to just get bounced by better build teams. If anything the Blazers should copy the Warriors plan for success. We have been without a strong Power Forward forever like a Dennis Rodman, Draymond Green, type of player last time we had one in Buck Williams we were in the Finals. It's the teams defense that usually fails us and we often live by the 3 die by the 3 mentality. A few drafts ago we needed a defensive stopper and the GM picks the non athletic white guy out of Gonzaga Zack Collins bust anyone??? The author nails it at the end by consistently getting into the playoffs it makes it so we miss out on future talent that will go to other teams keeping you from getting farther in the playoffs.

As a Nets fan I would say we are a contender. Finally get accepted into the NBA, then forced by Knicks to trade Dr. J. Drazen dies at 28. We go to the Finals twice in a row and win neither. We get the DWill, Joe Johnson, Lopez, Garnett, Pierce starting lineup and can’t make the conference finals. We get the Harden, Kyrie, KD big three and it becomes a big one with us never getting to conference finals.

MOM WAKE UP NEW JONNY VIDEO JUST DROPPED

Lakers in the 60s are up there .

Kevin Johnson, MJ, Dominique, C-Webb, & Hakeem..6th man Ginobili..Enforcers Big Ben + Gary Payton..3 point specialists Steph + Ray Allen..11th/12th Joker & Vince..Coach Mark Jackson..GM Masai Ujiri..

They are cursed but not the most cursed walk with me the Phoenix Suns are the most cursed. Replace the blazer with the sun's and the video is on point phoenix had a ton of opportunities and never got the ring mind u they had Barkley MVP Hof then later on Steve Nash back to back MVP no ring then booker cp3 get too the finals and in my mind phoenix could have won but that curse

I think the Clippers may still be more cursed. Even though the Clippers did break the Conference Finals curse, they still have yet to make the Finals and if Kawhi was healthy 2 years ago for the Conference Finals is a huge what if.

Up until roughly 2018, you could've easily put the Milwaukee Bucks on here. After Kareem Left, and it went into the 80's Moncrief was awesome along with Marques Johnson, but the East also had the Pistons, Sixers, and Celtics during that time too. 90's were terrible and only 2001 was a good time, but up until Giannis got there, it was poverty.

Utah Jazz enter the chat, Pacers and Clippers as well

Who’s here after Damian Lillard got traded to Milwaukee?

they're cursed, but they also make terrible decisions, like making Walton play on a busted foot. funny how often those two things go hand-in-hand.

Hawks go back to 1958 for a title and have made the conference finals only twice in 54 seasons in Atlanta.

Since the term being used is "curse", It's not about which franchise sucks the most. It's the one that had the most potential and had it taken away from them by circumstances that they couldn't control. That would probably be the Blazers. I honestly can't imagine anybody else with that consistent streak of bad luck.

Just like the Dom2k streams, we are looking at the Failblazers

Walton didn't curse them. They brought that one on themselves by forcing him to play injured until he just broke down. They've had some bad luck since but the Dame era is just lost to poor management

The clippers are cursed the most. They’ve had Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Deandre Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Bob McAdoo, World B Free, Elton Brand and Ron Harper and they’ve only ever gone as far as the WCF and that was just once in their entire history, which in the WCF they didn’t have their best player due to an ACL tear. Not to mention, a lot of those players played together at the same time.

Love that AD jab lmao it's true af

Lmao the Jordan draft pick never gets old😂

Nets and Clippers: “hold my beer”

nope the clippers is still the most cursed franchise in nba history. we been the worst team in the league a couple times,shared the same city and arena with a team with the second most championships in nba history when we never won one. we never made it to the finals and I don't think we ever made it to the conference finals. we had chances which failed due to injuries. lob city could have done it but injury derailed or blowing leads when having doc rivers and now with kawhi and pg injuries again so we gonna have to scrap the team imagine having such a good front office to keep putting a good team together but fail due to injuries year after year. when was the last time blazers had a real shot ? over 10 years ago. clippers real shot was 2 years ago and we had more looking at it in a 10 year spam.

For sure the franchise with the most "what if" and....is the team that i'm root for

I've always believed Sam Bowie would have been a really good and possibly great player if not for the injuries. I'm an Indiana Hoosiers fan, and I remember how great he was when Kentucky played IU in the early '80s. I've always hated Kentucky, but I thought Bowie was a classy guy. Now of course, I am in no way saying he would have been anywhere near as great as Jordan, so it was a bad pick regardless.

5:21 yeah the Blazers only have themselves to blame for that game 7 meltdown.

The real problem with Portland imo is the front office. In almost every case you look at with the team missing championship opportunities, the front office may not always be the main problem but is certainly a contributing factor. Now they've nearly completely squandered Lillard's prime which will send a message to all future draft picks that being a loyal Trail Blazer is a fool's errand.

Hey Mr. Arnett, where do you find your stats from? Such as the blazers missing 13 straight in the finals?

I'm going with the Sacramento Kings or Minnesota Timberwolves

The suns are the most cursed team ever in NBA history we had chance after chance and lost 3 finals appearances… one of them we were up 2-0 7 seconds or less team ran into the Kobe led Lakers and the in their prime Spurs and now we have a decent team with just needing a superstar player to trade for and now we have drama with AYTON, Monty Williams, Chris Paul, Jae crowder, the owner sold the team after racist allegations, Luka 😅😅 it’s frustrating to have it happen right as we become a decent franchise 😭😡

I would say the magic is a contender for the most cursed. In a span of 20 years they've had 3 generational talents in shaq, Tmac and Howard. They've had great teams that have made the finals. They had incredible luck in signing at the time the best free agents in 2000. Had a chance at Tim Duncan going into his prime. And when they were contending for titles they just so happened to run into teams that are looking for revenge in the 96 bulls and 09 lakers. They had terrible luck with stars getting injured. They also have traded great players like Victor Oladipo, Ben wallace and a pick that became Demontas Sabonis. The video is good but I'd say that the magic takes the cake on the most cursed franchise.

Draft wise maybe tho they've drafted great players... how about the kings? Hornets?

But Lilliard signs with them anyways. Hilarious as he mentioned a "championship" in an interview after signing that huge contract. I'd bet my entire life savings that never happens and win.

I am surprised that this isn't about the Clippers haha.

I guess the curse goes on with Scoot Henderson’s injury.

U forgot larue Martin arguably the worst 1 overall pick ever he played only 4 seasons. Bob macdoo was the next pick who averaged 18 in his rookie year

Come on man we all know the refs have admitted to giving Wallace as many T's as possible. He got one for just looking at a ref

I'm still mad that Jordan retired in 94. He's the reason his biggest competition(Hakeem and Clyde)won a ring. Hakeem won and Jordan got mad. Clyde finally won the next season and Jordan got mad again😂. Portland aka the Land was cursed after turning down the best rookie ever(in my opinion)