Portland Fire
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The Portland Fire joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000 as the counterpart to the National Basketball Association team the Portland Trailblazers. They played their games at Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. The team folded after the 2002 season. They were the only WNBA team that had never made the playoffs.
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Uniforms
At home, white with red on the sides and gold on the shoulders, black Fire logo text on the chest. On the road, black with red on the sides and gold on the shoudlers, Fire logo text in white. The shorts had the Fire logo on them.
Playoff history
Playoff Appearances:
Conference Championships:
WNBA Championships:
History
In its short history, the Portland Fire franchise held some of the more dubious distinctions among WNBA franchises. Founded in 2000, Portland Trailblazers owner Paul Allen served as the team's chairman. Lead by Vanessa Nygaard and Sylvia Crawley, the team managed a 10-22 record in their inaugural season. In the 2001 season, the team faced another losing season but found hope in the play of rookie guard Jackie Stiles, who would win the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. However, in 2002 Stiles suffered a severe injury and was out for most of the season. Without their star player, the Fire faced another losing campaign.
The 2002 season proved to be the Portland Fire's last. After this season, the WNBA sold ownership of their franchises to owners of their counterpart NBA teams or to third parties. Fire chairman Paul Allen's continued financial problems with what was seen league-wide as an unachieving Trailblazer team put him out of the running to buy the Fire franchise and led to the Portland Fire folding in 2002. With this, the Fire became the only WNBA franchise not to make the playoffs and along with the Miami Sol, the WNBA franchise with the shortest lifespan.
Retired numbers
Hall of Famers
Not to be forgotten
The following have been listed on the Fire roster:
- LaQuanda Barksdale
- Tully Bevilaqua
- Marla Brumfield
- Alisa Burras
- Monique Cardenas
- Sylvia Crawley
- Ukari Figgs
- Kristin Folkl
- Amber Hall
- Tamicha Jackson
- Melody Johnson
- Jenny Mowe
- Mandy Nightingale
- Vanessa Nygaard, now an assistant coach at Pepperdine University
- Gergana Slavtcheva
- Jackie Stiles
- Stacey Thomas
- Michele Van Gorp
- DeMya Walker
- Carolyn Young
Coaches and others
Head Coaches:
- Linda Hargrove (2000-2002), now serves as the General Manager of the Washington Mystics
External links
- WNBA website (http://www.wnba.com)