1997–98 Portland Trail Blazers season

Fox Sports Northwest (lost to Lakers 1–3)

The 1997–98 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 28th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Trail Blazers signed free agents Brian Grant, and Vincent Askew, acquired rookie center, and top draft pick Kelvin Cato out of Iowa State University from the Dallas Mavericks, and hired former Milwaukee Bucks General Manager, and head coach Mike Dunleavy as their new coach.

After losing their regular season opener, the Trail Blazers posted a five-game winning streak, which ended with a quadruple overtime home loss to the Phoenix Suns, 140–139 at the Rose Garden Arena on November 14, 1997. The Trail Blazers continued to play above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, holding a 26–20 record at the All-Star break.

At mid-season, the team traded Kenny Anderson along with Gary Trent, and rookie point guard, and second-round draft pick Alvin Williams to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Damon Stoudamire, Carlos Rogers and Walt Williams; Anderson never played for the Raptors, as he was soon traded to the Boston Celtics. The Trail Blazers later on signed free agent Gary Grant in March, while Askew was released to free agency after 30 games. The Trail Blazers finished in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 46–36 record, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and making their 16th consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs, and 21st in 22 years.

Isaiah Rider led the Trail Blazers in scoring with 19.7 points per game and 135 three-point field goals, while Arvydas Sabonis averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, and Rasheed Wallace provided the team with 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. In addition, Stoudamire contributed 12.4 points, 8.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 22 games after the trade, while Brian Grant provided with 12.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, despite only playing 61 games due to a leg injury. Off the bench, Walt Williams contributed 8.4 points per game in 31 games, while Stacey Augmon contributed 5.7 points per game, second-year forward Jermaine O'Neal averaged 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and Cato provided with 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, and before the mid-season trade, Cato and Alvin Williams were both selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as members of the Western Conference Rookie team.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Trail Blazers faced off against the 3rd–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the All-Star quartet of Shaquille O'Neal, Eddie Jones, second-year star and sixth man Kobe Bryant, and Nick Van Exel. The result was identical to that of the previous year, as the Trail Blazers lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Great Western Forum, before winning Game 3 at home at the Rose Garden Arena, 99–94, and then losing Game 4 to the Lakers at home, 110–99, thus losing the series in four games. It was also the sixth consecutive year that the Trail Blazers lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.

The Trail Blazers finished third in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 846,559 at the Rose Garden Arena during the regular season. The Trail Blazers also set an ignominious record during a road game against the Indiana Pacers, at the Market Square Arena on February 27, 1998, which ended with a Pacer win by the embarrassing score of 124–59, the only time in NBA history where a team has had their score doubled.