The Trail Blazers walk into Wednesday night with a different look, a different coach and one of the most recognizable faces in franchise history back where he belongs.
Portland opens the 2026-27 season against the Phoenix Suns, the same team it knocked out in the play-in tournament in April, and this first night is carrying a lot more weight than a standard regular-season tip-off. A new head coach is in charge, the roster has been reshaped by major additions, and the franchise icon returning to the floor is Damian Lillard.
Micah Nori, hired in June to steady Portland after the team’s coaching turmoil, is expected to deploy a starting group built around Lillard and Ja Morant. The projected five also includes Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan. That gives the Blazers three All-Stars in the same lineup, plus Camara’s defense, Clingan’s size and a lot of scoring punch.
Nori said he plans to lean on a 10-man rotation to begin the year, making depth part of the team’s identity from the jump. Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Sidy Cissoko, Robert Williams III and Vit Krejci are expected to be part of that opening group, though the mix can shift depending on opponents and Williams’ availability.
Last season, Williams did not play in back-to-backs. Micah Potter, Branden Carlson and Yang Hansen could also see occasional minutes.
For Portland, the offensive shape of the roster stands out immediately. The Blazers now have five players who can handle, create and move the ball - Lillard, Morant, Avdija, Holiday and Henderson - and the expectation is that Nori will push the pace and keep the game flowing. That means more speed, more passing and more cutting, with shorter bursts for players, possibly as brief as three minutes at a time, so they can go hard before the next wave comes in.
Defensively, the picture is more mixed. Clingan and Williams give Portland a strong interior base, Camara remains one of the league’s most versatile defenders, and Cissoko is expected to take on difficult matchups across the floor.
Holiday can still handle top guards, and Avdija has said he wants to be a bigger two-way presence now that he no longer has to carry the offense. But the Lillard-Morant backcourt brings obvious concerns on that end.
Both are listed at 6-foot-2, and while the offensive upside is obvious, they are not a naturally intimidating defensive pairing.
The expectations around this group have changed quickly. Portland ended last season on a strong run, winning 10 of its final 14 regular-season games before beating Phoenix in Phoenix to claim the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
The Spurs then eliminated the Blazers with a gentleman’s sweep in the playoffs, but the late surge and the additions of Lillard and Morant have raised the bar in Portland. Camara said during training camp that the goal is 50 or more wins and home-court advantage in the postseason.
That won’t come easy. The league is loaded, and the new lottery rules are designed to make tanking less appealing, which should keep more teams fighting deep into the season.
Portland won’t have much time to settle in, either. Six of its first eight games - and 12 of its first 17 - are on the road, with tests against the Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder twice, Minnesota Timberwolves twice, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers twice.
Still, the biggest storyline may be the one that has been waiting for this moment for more than two years. Lillard is back in Portland after two seasons in Milwaukee and a season on the injured list, and he hasn’t played in an NBA regular-season or playoff game since April 27, 2025, when he tore his left Achilles tendon. He also hasn’t worn a Blazers uniform since March 22, 2023, before the trade that sent him to the Bucks.
During the preseason, the 9-time All-Star showed little sign of rust. He played in three of Portland’s four exhibition games, averaging 17.3 points, 2.7 assists and 22.7 minutes.
He looked like the same old Dame: pulling from deep, creating off the dribble, setting the offense and forcing defenses to react to him. Earlier this week, Lillard joked that he’s “not an old man,” though he also acknowledged that his workload won’t look the way it used to and that a random back-to-back night off could be in the cards.
Even with a lighter load, his return should matter in a major way. Lillard’s shooting can help address two of Portland’s biggest problems from last season - three-point accuracy and late-game shot-making - and his presence should light up a fan base that has rarely loved a player more. Lillard says he plans to play with more “joy” than ever.
In Other News...
Blazers Open Season With A Real Availability Problem To Watch
The first official injury report of the season already gives the Trail Blazers plenty to monitor before their opener against Phoenix. The Suns will be without starting center Mark Williams because of a shoulder injury, and guard Luke Kennard is questionable after a knee injury, so there is no shortage of lineup uncertainty on the other side either.
Portlands own report is busier, with several players listed as questionable or out because of injuries and illness. For a team trying to get its season off on the right foot, the biggest question is not just who starts, but how much continuity the Blazers will actually have when the ball goes up. [Read more 🡒]
Why The Blazers Roster Build Suddenly Looks A Lot More Defensible
The NBA season opener offered a useful reminder of how roster construction can shift the way a rebuild is judged. Oklahoma City, fresh off a title and still built with unusual flexibility, handled San Antonio by leaning on a deep frontcourt that could answer Victor Wembanyama with Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams and rookie Aday Mara. It was a vivid example of Sam Prestis long-running strategy: stockpile options, keep the fit wide open and make sure the team can survive almost any matchup without scrambling.
For Portland, the comparison is hard to ignore. The Trail Blazers have spent their rebuild under Joe Cronin trying to piece together a roster that can grow in stages rather than force a shortcut, and the Thunders success has made that approach look a lot more defensible. The lesson is not simply about having talent, but about building with enough size, depth and adaptability that a team is not boxed in by one opponent, one style or one timeline. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Suddenly Have A Backcourt Decision With Real Trade Stakes
The Pistons opened the 2026-27 season by beating the Celtics, but the win came with an unmistakable reminder of how much still runs through Cade Cunningham. Detroits offense bogged down at times before a late fourth-quarter surge, and the early takeaway was simple enough: the team could use another reliable playmaker to ease the burden on Cunningham and help Ausar Thompson continue to grow into a larger offensive role.
That is where Portlands guard logjam starts to matter. With Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson all in the same backcourt mix, the Trail Blazers have a roster setup that could draw attention before the trade deadline, especially from a team like Detroit searching for help on the ball. Portland does not have to move anyone right away, but its collection of proven guards gives rival front offices something to keep filing away as the season develops. [Read more 🡒]