The Story Behind The Portland Jail Blazers

They were the bad boys of the Northwest. A collection of players and characters tossed together in haphazard fashion; collectively forming teams that became infamous despite limited success.This is the story behind Portland's Jail Blazers era.
Written & Narrated by: Joseph Casciaro (@JosephCasciaro | X)
Produced & Edited by: James Balutan (@jamesbalutan | Instagram)
Additional Edits by: Stephen Addante (@stephenaddante | Instagram)
Thumbnail Design by: Justin Shipley (@shipleysportstudio | Instagram)
Courtesy List: pastebin.com/3...
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#portlandtrailblazers #rasheedwallace #nba

[@theebraggart]

When 2k first came out this team was unstoppable!!! Legendary team

[@kevinjohnson7374]

This was my team growing up and my favorite blazer of all time will always be Brandon Roy for restoring the franchise and shedding us of the jail blazers era.

[@stevenjames7645]

Brandon Roy was a real one

[@ballsballsballs3617]

@@stevenjames7645Brandon Roy was him

[@stansb37]

That team was rigged of injuries. That some bad luck

[@TheMILVSCR]

I always forget how good he was... definitely underrated.

[@kevinreddington4251]

Same. That game 7 loss still hurts

[@johndebono1870]

The Jail Blazers title was overall well earned, but it always struck me as weird that Rasheed was the figure head between the weed charge and the fact he was kinda right a lot of the times about the refs. The fact that he then ended up a key piece of one of the most functional teams in the 2000s and even tried to deescalate the Malice at the Palace I feel backs up my belief that Sheed was done dirty.

[@jay5286]

💯

[@oldheed515]

Wasn’t well earned. I lived in Portland at that time. The police messed with/ pulled over us all the time.

[@denigster]

jail blazers were totally overblown - this team wasnt even disfunctional - all national media who wanted to hate them - specially how they treated sheeeed is just a joke in itself

[@blablablaa14]

The Jailblazers didn't win a title, but the team is iconic for a reason. They were fun to cheer for or to hate, they were always entertaining. I fondly remember them to this day

[@TheRealDebussyFarts]

The nucleus of all their dysfunction was Steve Kerr. K-Dawg came in there raining threes and and blazing trees. Sheed and the others have been scapegoated and I’m sick and tired of pretending otherwise.

[@blablablaa14]

A portland team has never been as interesting as the Jailblazers. They were a team you wanted to watch live

[@briannao9251]

Can’t believe Steve Kerr was on the Portland Jail Blazers for one season!!!

[@jamsjars9505]

Blazers get a lotta random players for one season over the course of the franchise's history. They can never keep them because the management is so ass lol. SELL THE BLAZERS JODY ALLEN YA JERK. PHIL KNIGHT WILL ACTUALLY HELP US WIN.

[@ono3869]

The mention of the Greg Oden draft pick is salt in the wound! 😂

[@chrisschaeffer9661]

The Refs admitted to Screwing them over in the 2000 WCF Game 7 against the Lakers.

[@hectorlopez1069]

That 2000 blazers should've beaten the lakers in game 7. They had that lead and then they blew it big time. They might have defeated the pacers to become champions.

[@lonematrix]

The Blazers, kings and lakers were definitely the most enjoyable teams to watch during that era. Good times 🙂

[@ARmirzaful]

No doubt at all for the 2000 era. I loved the younger teams more like the Bucks of Ray Allen and Tim Hardaway's Heat right before this era took over.

[@KenKaniff-dw4jw]

And Pistons and there Defense that changed the game and the Finals.because upset on NBA History

[@ram1483]

Dray taking down notes during those days. Lol

[@hubertsumlin9697]

I loved this team, and i can't tell you how proud i am of Joseph, who managed to narrate an entire video without showing his face. See, it is possible.

[@ARmirzaful]

They deserved a better fate with the Lakers...definitely not a team that deserves a sweep.

[@DGS2605]

They were like a basketball version of one of the football teams from "Blitz The League" 😂😂😂

[@wh0r3chatas]

They could never make me hate you, Rasheed Wallace.

[@nbapbaupdate8338]

Jail Blazers ERA INSANE 😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😂😅😅😂😂

[@ltukkyle]

As a Blazers fan, thank you for this

[@mekosloff]

Some of my favorite Blazers tho

[@NR63917]

Alleged dog abuse is dirty. Hard to respect that fool.

[@Dutchofclass]

Yeah that laker series..where the Lakers got a million free throws🤨 nothing suspect there

[@Max-kw2hp]

Malika would be ecstatic to report on them.

[@DERRTYCHYBO]

E-what now?

[@rileymcphee9429]

This comment crazy af 🤣

[@bookaufman9643]

You mentioned drafting Greg Oden like it was a good thing. Dude couldn't play much because of injuries.

[@Dutchofclass]

Dude, it's not like he never played. When he did you could see the talent that was there

[@MrOctober44]

The guy would have been a perennial all star if it weren't for the injuries.

[@rileymcphee9429]

Oden gets way more heat than he deserves. Yes, we all wish Portland nabbed someone else, but Oden was him if it weren't for injuries.

[@bookaufman9643]

@@rileymcphee9429 when he was drafted he'd already had an injury history.

[@TheMILVSCR]

Every generation has a Sheed, but I don't think there has been another version quite as entertaining. And that's coming from a Suns fan.

[@paddle_my_mad_laddle]

as a blazers fan thank you for this vid

[@chrisdelaurier7102]

What a team

[@MadMicMusic197]

Always love when it’s said that we blew a lead vs the lakers. That’s one of the most obvious hack jobs ever

[@marinerman]

Seeing the perpetual nothing that our team is now, I kinda miss these days. They were hot heads, egomaniacs, and constantly got rung up by the law, but at least it was something better than what the team has become now in a city that is no longer the Rip City I remember. RIP Bill Walton

[@calebmorales6288]

I legit heard Dan Dickaut because I’d never heard this guy. Needed a triple take lol

[@nbapbaupdate8338]

Rise or another Fall for Charlotte Hornets new ERA & new owners your next video theScore 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@whyg2277]

Bro mid bite I hear this dude day “wells suspended for berating cheeks”

[@the503creepout7]

You see a lot of pro athletes talk about how tough there neighborhood was growin' up. "If u gonna make it in the hood, u gotta join a gang or be a dealer. To make it outta the hood, u gotta be a rapper, or a ball player." Then we see these young incredibly talented players go to Portland Oregon of all places and find themselves in more trouble than they got in back in the neighborhoods they say were so rough. Imagine tellin that to a young kid with great potential - "Don't be gettin involved with those street gangs kid. Just focus on your school & your game. Because someday you'll be an adult in a gang called the Portland TrailBlazers. And you'll get to witness some of the same violence & be in just as much legal trouble as if you were in a gang. But at least you'll make alotta money."

[@jaredcarrick3468]

The jail blazers era was more Portland fans pretending to take a moral stance over the character of the players on their roster, when the reality was they were frustrated with their team clearly eroding from being legit contenders the previous few seasons. They just never seemed to fully recover from their 4th quarter collapse in game 7 of the WCF at LA. The team gradually regressed the following seasons and once it got to the point where it began to be a struggle just to make it to the playoffs, that’s when Portland fans started complaining about their off the court issues.

[@lucashenderson2775]

No doubt. Rasheed was a saint compared to some of the other guys cause his worst offense was smoking weed yet he's the first guy people think of when they hear Jail Blazers. Granted it's probably because he was the star of that team but still.

[@drumagus2258]

naw it was just racism.

[@lucashenderson2775]

@@drumagus2258 Oh, that's true no doubt.

[@tonywalters732]

@@drumagus2258 no, it was their actions, but keep crying

[@J10005]

If Patterson played in 2024 his career would have been over the moment he gets his first conviction.

[@Wil-kn8wo]

They got sabonis too late, he would have been jokic good

[@marvdatboi]

Some of these guys got a bad rap especially Sheed but some were definitely warranted with some of those charges yikes.

[@phillipadler3337]

How are you going to make a jail blazers video and not mention Isaiah Rider?

[@philliplyn2692]

🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲

[@cartiinnit458]

Shout out to Brandon Roy Ending the JailBlazers Era

[@moon-zzz]

Should’ve added on top of CJ McCollum , he’s a baller

[@mackboi_tye2372]

Even tho they was the jailblazers, that was the hardest Trailblazers team the played good

[@sunriseeternity300]

Heres the scoop. People dont really care what the cashier at 711 is doing in his off-time or if he has a criminal record. But... People get super weird about the personal life of sports professionals. Dwight Janes started his crusade against the blazers players and alot fans followed suit. They cried and complained until the blazers gutted the team, and started making "character" the priority. Paul Allen stopped shelling out "win now" money and what did we get (we being us blazers fans here in Portland)? We got close to 20 years of weak af teams. Yes, injuries played a major factor (roy, oden, mathews and afflolo's injury late in the season). Blazer fans act like basketball players really want to sign with Portland in the off-season. They dont! And your going to have to way over pay or sign guys with "character issues" to build a great team or tank and rebuild. Now... The fans are crying because they are tanking.... Smh. Blazers fans bitched and cried when the team was winning. And they get what they deserve.

[@ryanwaslawski6088]

Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire were busted in my hometown lol.

[@danieltucker8382]

It’s pronounced ‘will-am-ette’ not ‘wilem-ette’

[@jakeciofu123]

*Zach Randolph pulled over because his SUV matched a description of one drove by gang members? Dang! thats some racist ass profiling if I ever heard one

[@iitchydog8770]

I thought the whole Jail Blazers thing was just an exaggeration, i guess i was wrong. This team was pretty busy off the court.

[@denigster]

no they werent ^^

[@jab1289]

Whitsitt should have been fired after the 2001 collapse and loss to the Lakers. They should have started rebuilding that team at that point.

[@prakharsharma6381]

And then the modern players are soft…

[@jaygriffieshow]

Ball players in the 2000’s wanted to be celebrities bro. No wonder the lakers won every year and no wonder it was easy for Lebron to come in here and run shit. Dudes wasn’t focused

[@blablablaa14]

I kinda miss when the NBA was a little bit less skill and a little bit more meanness

[@liuzeyuan]

if it werent for basketball, all or some of these ppl would have gone to jail or been shot for sure.

[@richardmanfield3037]

Lol Greg oden??

[@Azzerhoden]

OH MY GOD. Will-a-met? Really? It's kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqLUpHSPg8mHb7M As for the rest of the video - yeah, was a sad time. I ended up being a fan of the brand, but a team hater for a time.

[@Odrunkmonkey]

Lost all credibility at 1:47 seconds….

[@natestevens6150]

Dan dickout?😭

[@bendrapeau1204]

M P Vb d 😅zhr1

[@bendrapeau1204]

M P Vb d 😅zhr1😅.rpj❤c😊..c 1p

[@bendrapeau1204]

M P Vb d 😅zhr1😅.rpj❤c😊..

[@bendrapeau1204]

M P Vb d 😅zhr1😅.rpj❤c😊..c 1p4

[@shirobedabo]

Somehow this term feels racist because how many players actually served time to justify the label?

[@mjbankhead9063]

I swear people nowadays don’t know what racist is. You must be Gen-Z