One of the most successful eras in Trail Blazers history is returning to Portland.
The Blazers are honoring the team that reached the 2000 Western Conference Finals with a “Rip City Reunion” game next week at the Moda Center. The event, scheduled for Monday during the Blazers’ matchup against the Detroit Pistons, will transform Portland back to the turn of the century.
The franchise is hosting members of the team, including players and front office personnel, and turning back the clock 25 years. The arena will pay homage to the 1999-2000 season and the early-2000s, featuring throwback highlights, tribute videos, music and fashion. Upon entry, fans will receive a placard of an official team photo.
The Blazers announced the event Tuesday morning in a release — less than a week before the game — and did not specify which former players will be in attendance. So it’s unclear who will be on hand. But the star-studded team included Scottie Pippen, Brian Grant, Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, Steve Smith, Detlef Schrempf, Jermaine O’Neal and Greg Anthony.
The Blazers finished 59-23 that season, recording the second-most regular season wins in franchise history, and breezed to the Western Conference Finals with dominant series victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves (3-1) and Utah Jazz (4-1). It set up a date with the hated Los Angeles Lakers.
Blazers fans need no reminder about how that date went. The Lakers overcame a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Portland 89-84, preventing the Blazers from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 1992.