The number 22 has positive connotations for the Portland Trail Blazers. It was Clyde Drexler’s uniform number. The first franchise superstars–Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks–averaged 22 points per game during their Portland tenures.
Unfortunately, 22 is also where the Blazers placed in the [opening round of NBA Power Rankings](https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2025-26-week-1) for the 2025-26 season. Nestled between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls in the bottom third of the league, Portland has left work for themselves as the season commences.
John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes:
_With a lot of teams saying they wanted to play faster, the Blazers were the team that followed through the best. They led the preseason in pace by a wide margin, seeing the biggest jump from last season, when they ranked 16th. But their opponents averaged more fast break points per 100 possessions (15.7) than they did (14.5)._
_Holiday didn’t see a big usage-rate jump from his two seasons in Boston and the Blazers were generally good with their starters on the floor. But they got off to rough starts in both the first and third quarters in Utah on Thursday, trailing 19-11 in the first half and getting outscored 15-5 to start the second half._
_Something to watch in Week 1: Shaedon Sharpe’s efficiency. On Sunday, Sharpe became the seventh (of 22) eligible fourth-year players to ink a rookie-scale extension. He averaged 18.5 points per game last season, looking a little more like the Blazers’ two guard of the future. But he can still be much more efficient, with plenty of room for improvement regarding his 3-point shooting (31.1%) and free throw rate (22 attempts per 100 shots from the field)._
Portland [didn’t get any relief from The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6727043/2025/10/20/nba-power-rankings-2025-2026-knicks-thunder-clippers/). Law Murray ranked them 23rd of 30 teams—in “Not the Tier to Fear”—with the following explanation:
_How many mentors does Scoot Henderson need?! Henderson’s head coach, Chauncey Billups, is already in the Hall of Fame as a finals MVP. The man Henderson was supposed to replace, Damian Lillard, is back in town to rehab his Achilles tendon and basically be the quarterback Marlon Wayans played in the movie “Him”. And the man Lillard was originally traded for is somehow here too, with Jrue Holiday replacing Anfernee Simons…_
_…While I think Portland is going to have a strong defense this season, I have no reason to think this offense will be set up for success._
The regular season begins Wednesday for Portland with an opening game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.