October 28, 2026
October 28, 2026
Portland Trail Blazers 2025-26 Season: Turmoil, Avdija and a Return to the Playoffs
The Trail Blazers’ 2025-26 season should have collapsed before Halloween. Portland lost its head coach to a federal arrest one game into the schedule, played the year under a pending ownership sale and watched its franchise icon spend every night in street clothes. Instead, the Blazers clawed their way to a 42-40 record and their first playoff berth since 2021. Deni Avdija became an All-Star, an interim coach held the room together and a young core finally tasted April basketball. The ride ended in five games against San Antonio, but the direction of the franchise had changed for good.
Portland’s summer was about adding grown-up basketball to a young roster. On July 7, 2025, the Blazers traded Anfernee Simons to the Boston Celtics for Jrue Holiday, a two-time champion and one of the league’s most respected defenders. Deandre Ayton was waived and later signed with the Lakers, clearing the middle for Donovan Clingan.
The draft brought a bold gamble. Portland selected Cedric Coward at No. 11 and flipped him to Memphis for the No. 16 pick, Chinese center Yang Hansen, plus three future selections. Then came the emotional headline. Damian Lillard returned on a three-year deal on July 19, even though a torn left Achilles tendon would keep him out the entire season. His homecoming was a statement about where the franchise wanted to go, not about what he could give that winter.
The season nearly unraveled on October 23. Head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in a federal investigation into an illegal gambling scheme, and the NBA placed him on leave. Portland had played exactly one game. Assistant Tiago Splitter, a former NBA champion as a player, was handed the job on an interim basis with no time to prepare.
His debut answered the first question. The Blazers routed Golden State 139-119 at home, proof that the locker room had not splintered. Splitter’s calm presence kept the group focused, and the players responded to his steadiness. The off-court uncertainty never fully lifted, as the long-running sale of the club to a group led by Tom Dundon hung over the season until spring.
Every surprise team needs a player who outgrows expectations, and Avdija was that player. The forward averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists, up from 16.9 points a year earlier. He attacked the rim relentlessly and lived at the free-throw line, earning more than nine attempts per game. On January 7, he poured in 41 points as Portland edged Houston 103-102 during a five-game winning streak.
That breakout earned Avdija his first All-Star selection, a landmark moment for a franchise searching for its next face. All-Star weekend carried another twist. Lillard, unable to play a single regular-season game, still captured the 3-Point Contest crown.
The supporting cast gave the Trail Blazers’ 2025-26 season its backbone. Shaedon Sharpe scored 20.8 points per game, while Jerami Grant added 18.6. Holiday averaged 16.3 points and 6.1 assists and brought veteran poise to tight games. Toumani Camara played all 82 games, defended the opponent’s best scorer and hit 37 percent from three on a career-high volume. Clingan anchored the paint with 12.1 points and 11.6 rebounds, leading the team on the glass.
The season held on through bruising stretches. Scoot Henderson missed more than 50 games, and Portland sat in the lower reaches of the Western Conference at the All-Star break. A February 20 loss in Denver, 157-103, looked like the low point of the winter.
The front office stayed patient at the February 1 trade deadline. Portland made only a modest move, sending Duop Reath to Atlanta for wing Vít Krejčí. The decision signaled trust in the existing group, and that faith was rewarded within weeks.
March changed the story. Portland surged past Golden State in the standings and pulled level with the Clippers in the race for the No. 8 seed. A 130-99 demolition of Milwaukee on March 25 pushed the club past its previous season’s win total. Four days later, the Blazers clinched a play-in spot.
The final days were a test of nerve. Portland held off Los Angeles and finished 42-40, eighth in the West. The Blazers seized the tiebreaker on intra-conference record, a narrow margin that sent them to Phoenix rather than home. Off the floor, the NBA approved the Dundon group’s purchase of the team at roughly $4.25 billion. It was the franchise’s first ownership change since Paul Allen bought the club in 1988.
The play-in game against the Suns on April 14 looked lost with seven minutes left. Phoenix ripped off an 11-0 run and led 98-87. Portland refused to break.
Grant, back from a calf injury that had cost him the final seven regular-season games, buried a corner three for a 107-106 lead. The lead changed hands four more times down the stretch. With 16.1 seconds left, Avdija drove, scored through contact and converted the free throw for a 112-110 edge. Matisse Thybulle stripped Jordan Goodwin on the final possession, and Portland escaped 114-110. Avdija finished with 41 points and 12 assists, and the Associated Press recap captured just how close the season came to ending in the desert.
The reward was a first-round meeting with second-seeded San Antonio and Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs controlled Game 1, 111-98. Game 2 became the defining night of the Trail Blazers’ 2025-26 season. Wembanyama left in the second quarter with a concussion, and San Antonio still built a 14-point lead in the fourth. Henderson refused to let the series slip away. He scored a playoff career-high 31 points, and Robert Williams III put Portland ahead for good with 12 seconds left. Camara’s free throws sealed a 106-103 win, a rally detailed in the NBA.com Game 2 takeaways.
The series turned at Moda Center. Portland led Game 3 by 15 in the third quarter, even with Wembanyama sidelined. Stephon Castle scored 33 and Dylan Harper added 27 as the Spurs closed on a 21-5 run and won 120-108. Game 4 hurt even more. The Blazers led by 17 at halftime before San Antonio opened the third quarter on a 13-0 burst. Wembanyama returned with seven blocks, and the Spurs won 114-93. According to OPB’s coverage, no team in playoff history had trailed by 15 at halftime and won by more than 15. Portland’s run ended with a 114-95 loss in Game 5.
A season that began with an arrest ended with a franchise rediscovering its identity. Splitter steered a young roster through a coaching scandal, an ownership transition and a long list of injuries. He delivered a winning record when few expected one. Avdija proved he could carry an offense, and Holiday showed the value of a veteran who wins possessions.
The Spurs series exposed what remained unfinished. Second-half collapses in Games 3 and 4 revealed how much growth the core still needed against elite opposition. Turnovers and late-game execution became the clear summer priorities. Henderson’s breakout against San Antonio, however, offered a glimpse of the player Portland had drafted him to become. The full statistical record on Basketball Reference shows a team built on defense and depth rather than star power.
For a fanbase that had endured four losing seasons, the Trail Blazers’ 2025-26 season restored something more valuable than a banner. It restored belief. Rip City watched its young players compete in meaningful April games, and Lillard’s return loomed on the horizon. The Portland Trail Blazers left the campaign with an All-Star in his prime and a clear path back toward contention.
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