Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen has died of cancer at the age of 65. A successful businessman and philanthropist, Allen also became a great influence in Portland in the 30 years as the Blazers' owner, especially on the city's sports platforms.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted out a snippet of the Blazers' achievements under Allen's leadership.
“Thirty years as Blazers owner, 23 trips to the Western playoffs, two NBA Finals appearances (1990 and 1992) and a relentless advocate for Portland, the Pacific Northwest and small market NBA franchises.”
Despite the fact that the Blazers fall among the league's small market teams, Allen and his front office were able to maximize their resources. The Blazers are one of the consistent contending teams in the Western Conference, no small feat for a small city name.
Aside from their two Finals appearances on which they lost to Isiah Thomas' Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, respectively, the Blazers also came close to beating the vaunted Los Angeles Lakers during the 2000 Western Conference Finals. They pushed a Lakers team led by a prime Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal to a Game 7, only succumbing in the game's waning seconds.
Widely known as the co-founder of Microsoft, Allen ventured into the sports industry as he became the owner of both the Blazers and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. Under Allen's watch, the Seahawks would go on to have three Super Bowl appearances, including a successful championship run in 2013.
While the Blazers are yet to win a championship of their own, it is with no doubts that Allen has already left an imprint of success in the franchise.
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