The Portland Trail Blazers during the early 2000s were perhaps one of the most brash, controversial, yet iconic teams in modern NBA history. Dubbed the Jail Blazers, they were loaded with talent on the court, but off the court, legal issues and suspensions involving multiple players overshadowed everything good they ever did.
Even when Portland consistently had great 50-win seasons from 1999 to 2003 and came close to eliminating the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers , in the Western Conference Finals in 2000, everyone outside of Oregon never really gave them a fair shot.
The story of that era ended with arrests and a litany of controversies. But according to one of the team's former star players, Rasheed Wallace , one important part of that has largely been overshadowed. While the media focused on every mistake the Blazers made, many players quietly invested their time and money into the Portland community.
Speaking on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast, Wallace reflected on the disconnect between the public identity of those Trail Blazers teams and what actually happened behind the scenes, specifically in their home community. While the national media portrayed the roster as an all-star collection of troubled players , he says many players regularly participated in community events throughout Portland.
"To be honest, us in a community. Like, they don't mention or want to give us the props for being in the community much. I know during that same year, they were talking so much trash about us, I had won a monthly community award. So did Damon," Sheed stated .
"Damon helped open up built school libraries. Did a lot of things in the community over there in Northeast Portland, where you have a lot more minorities living at," he added.
Another early member of those teams, Damon Stoudamire, who was a Portland native, maintained strong ties to the city throughout his career. Before he returned to the sport as a respected college coach, Stoudamire regularly participated in youth programs and neighborhood events that received little to no national attention.
According to Wallace, community service wasn't just limited to him and Stoudamire; it was the whole team's culture. And it even produced a softball game between them, Terell Brandon, and members of his famous barber shop in Alberta, Portland, that most of the community treated as a big event.
"I played with Damon, and every summer I was out there, we would play softball at least three games in the community. It would be a big thing out there. Free food, drinks, the bouncy houses for the kids, all that," he said.
"And it wasn't no thing like we weren't trying to do it for the media," Wallace added. "We were just out there doing it for the community and just being there for the community. I think that's one of the things that goes unsaid with us."
Related: Rasheed Wallace on why he would dominate today's NBA: "I'd light they a-s up"
There is no denying that despite their community service, Portland's rooster experienced significant off-court issues during that era, so much so that owner Paul Allen pushed for a cultural reset that reshaped the franchise's identity and roster during the mid 2000s.
However, reducing those teams to the now-infamous nickname really oversimplifies what they really accomplished on and off the court. Portland was a contender with a young Sheed, who grew into a versatile power forward alongside other players like Stoudamire, Steve Smith, Bonzi Wells, Arvydas Sabonis and Zach Randolph , who were equally good on the court together.
While they never did win a ring, the era served as an important turning point for the franchise as the intense backlash prompted the front office to change the team's identity, therefore, really bringing in some quality players that culminated in a new generation led by Brandon Roy , LaMarcus Aldridge and later Damian Lillard .
But more than two decades later, the Jail Blazers' nickname still dominates conversation about that era of the franchise. Despite their quiet community engagements, they are still doomed to be remembered as a stain on the league, even though, in reality, no one actually went to jail .
Nobody really knows, or even acknowledges, the good they had beneath all the bad. But Wallace isn't really asking anyone to forget the mistakes. He's only telling everyone that they were more than a ragtag group of delinquents.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
