Portland Trail Blazers, strong candidate for breakthrough team in the NBA 2026

Diego Jiménez Rubio | Sun, 08/24/2025 - 08:53

Portland Trail Blazers, breakout team. Photo: gettyimages

Dreams, hope, positive energy, and a lot of optimism. That's what you breathe in Portland Trail Blazers after a prolific summer of movements and a process that leads to a team full of incentives. Damian Lillard won't be able to compete this season, but he will be there for a team full of young talent.

The return of the prodigal son has been the icing on the cake in a project that seemed doomed to obscurity, but where the perseverance of the management of Portland Trail Blazers has been key to finding some green shoots around which to build. Deni Avdija made a huge qualitative leap, Camara and Clingan are very promising players in the low post, and the perimeter duo formed by Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday can be lethal.

In addition to that, they have Jerami Grant who will continue to contribute very positively from the bench and luxury substitutes like Sharpe, Thybulle, Robert Williams, or the Chinese player, Yang Hansen. This is a bet that can turn out very well in terms of marketing, but also in sports, showing good signs in a player who is eager to have opportunities to demonstrate his talent. In a highly competitive West, it wouldn't be crazy to think that Portland Trail Blazers could fight for a spot in the playoffs.

The Trail Blazers’ current projected rotation next season:

Starters: Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan

Second Unit: Shaedon Sharpe, Matisse Thybulle, Jerami Grant, Yang Hansen, Robert Williams

Portland will be an elite defensive team. pic.twitter.com/Hq5ZyQEwEA
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 23, 2025