Trail Blazers 2024-25 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds, Record Predictions
The Portland Trail Blazers head into another NBA season with their gaze firmly fixated on the draft lottery.
Portland's first year without Damian Lillard went about as expected as the team finished with the worst record in the Western Conference (21-61). The 2024-25 campaign is likely going to offer more of the same after the Blazers made few upgrades to the roster.
Deni Avdija is coming off a career year, averaging 14.7 points and shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc. He brings some secondary scoring and floor-spacing but isn't a major difference-maker in terms of wins and losses.
Donovan Clingan, the No. 7 overall pick, probably won't even start right away since he joined a frontcourt that includes Deandre Ayton.
Those two aside, Portland is pretty much running it back with last year's squad.
The best-case scenario for the Blazers is that they lose a lot of games, see their younger players take positive strides in their development, and then win the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Although that's not a vision you necessarily want to sell to the public, the fanbase is well aware of the organization's long road back to contention.
2024-25 Trail Blazers Schedule Details
Season Opener:
Championship Odds: +100000 (bet $100 to win $100,000), per FanDuel
Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on the team's official site.
Top Matchups
Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets
These four teams are all grouped together because they're the Blazers' stiffest competition in the 2025 lottery (aka the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes).
Flagg is the No. 1 overall recruit in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2024 class, and he drew rave reviews with the USA select team as the United States trained for the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Barring an unforeseen development, the Duke freshman will be a one-and-done and lead every mock draft between now and next summer.
Next year's draft class features some impressive prospects beyond Flagg, too, so failing to get the No. 1 pick but staying in the top five will mean having the opportunity to land an impact player.
The Blazers are right there in the mix to be the worst team in the NBA, or at least one that finishes with the bottom three and thus has a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery.
The Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets have the same goal in mind. The Nets in particular made a sizable pivot when they traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks.
The head-to-head results between Portland the quartet listed above will a clear influence on the top of the lottery order.
Season Forecast
If nothing else, the Blazers' luck should turn around a bit. Ayton, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe all played fewer than 60 games in 2023-24. Robert Williams III logged just six appearances before he needed knee surgery.
Having those five stay healthy would add a few wins.
But so much of this roster is potentially in flux.
Just based on the organization's priorities, Portland would probably jump at the chance to trade Ayton or Grant if the right deal—or any deal—materialized between now and the trade deadline. Simons only has two years left on his current deal, so he's approaching a pivotal point in shaping his long-term future. Williams, who's also two years from free agency, would presumably have suitors if he's effective in his return to the court.
Adding on to that, plenty of questions still surround the players who the Blazers are hopeful of being foundational pieces.
Scoot Henderson is a major work in progress after he had a rookie season to forget. Sharpe's core muscle injury made it difficult to draw any conclusions from Year 2 in the NBA. 2023 first-round pick Kris Murray only hit 26.8 percent of his threes.
Leaning even harder into a youth movement could produce some ugly results on the court in the short term.
Ultimately, the Trail Blazers will probably finish right around where they did in 2023-24.
Record Prediction: 23-59
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