num_pages: 544
description: In the late 90s and early 2000s the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the hottest teams in the NBA. For almost a decade they won 60 percent of their games while making it to the Western Conference Finals twice. However what happened off-court was just as unforgettable as what they did on the court. When someone asked Blazers general manager Bob Whitsitt about his teams chemistry he replied that hed never studied chemistry in college. And with that the Jail Blazers were born. Built in a similar fashion to a fantasy team the team had skills but their issues ended up being their undoing. In fact many consider it the darkest period in franchise history. While fans across the country were watching the skills of Damon Stoudamire Rasheed Wallace and Zach Randolph those in Portland couldnt have been more disappointed in the players off-court actions. This many have mentioned included a very racial elementwhich carried over to the players as well. As forward Rasheed Wallace said Were not really going to worry about what the hell [the fans] think about us. They really dont matter to us. They can boo us every day but theyre still going to ask for our autographs if they see us on the street. Thats why theyre fans and were NBA players. While people think of the Detroit Pistons of the eighties as the elite Bad Boys the Jail Blazers were actually bad. Author Kerry Eggers who covered the Trail Blazers during this controversial era goes back to share the stories from the players coaches management and those in Portland when the players were in the headlines as much for their play as for their legal issues.
language: None
title: Jail Blazers: How the Portland Trail Blazers Became the Bad Boys of Basketball
publisher: Sports Publishing