The Portland Trail Blazers enter the 2026-27 season with a different kind of buzz around them. They’re fresh off their first playoff trip since 2022, and the mix of Damian Lillard returning and Ja Morant joining the starting lineup gives Portland real reason to believe it can push for a stronger finish in 2027.
There’s still a catch, though. Shaedon Sharpe is out with a torn meniscus and is expected to miss time until March at the earliest, which takes some shine off the backcourt picture. Even so, the Blazers still look like a team with a shot to get back into the playoff conversation.
We checked where Portland lands in power rankings from The Athletic, Bleacher Report and ESPN, and the broader picture is pretty clear: the Blazers are respected, but not yet in the league’s top tier.
Last season, Portland finished atop the Western Conference play-in field and knocked off the Phoenix Suns to secure the No. 7 seed. That matters, but it also helps explain the current ceiling. The Blazers are better now than they were then, but the gap between them and the West’s top six is still real.
The San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers all have strong cases to sit ahead of Portland in the standings. That puts the Blazers at a logical upper bound of No. 7.
ESPN’s projection has Portland at 43 wins, which would be one more than last season. On paper, that feels modest for a team adding two All-Star guards in Lillard and Morant.
At the same time, there are reasons to keep expectations in check. Both guards bring injury concerns, and the roster still has to sort out how this crowded backcourt actually works. Add in a new head coach in Micah Nori, and there’s a real possibility the early part of the season takes some figuring out.
That said, the Blazers have enough talent to beat the projection. Fifty wins may be too ambitious, but a finish in the 45-47 range feels like a fair middle ground if things come together. If Portland finds its rhythm quickly, the upside is obvious.
In Other News...
Former Blazer Brandon Williams Could Haunt Portland In The West
Brandon Williams was one of those brief Blazers flashes that never fully left the building. The guard spent his rookie season in Portland in 2021-22, then had to work his way back into the league after the team moved on from him in October 2022. A stint in the G League followed, and he eventually landed with Dallas in December 2023, where his game started to settle in over time.
Now Williams is heading to Golden State, a move that gives him another chance to stick as a rotation guard after a strong run of development in Dallas. For Portland, it is the sort of old storyline that can suddenly become relevant again if a former young piece finds traction elsewhere, especially in the West where familiarity can cut both ways. [Read more 🡒]