Collectable Portland Trail Blazers Game Day Posters Attract National Hype

“Sometimes playful, sometimes poignant,” the New York Times writes, “the posters drawn by local artists take aim at opponents and play up Portland’s aesthetic.”

Trail Blazers face the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 15, 2018 at the Moda Center. Bruce Ely / Trail Blazers
By Elise Herron

The Portland Trail Blazers just scored a feature in the New York Times—not for actually playing basketball, but for the posters the team commissions local artists to create for every home game.

The posters are sold only at the Rip City Clothing Co. storefront in the Moda Center. Meaning the impressive $12 artifacts, which are only printed in one-time runs of 110, have become sought-after collectable items.

Todd Adams, the team's brand development manager, tells the Times that the posters are as much about exposure for local artists as they are incentives for people to show up for games early to do some shopping.

Either way, the clever designs are worth appreciating. Browse a collection of the past year's works and read more about the city's avid poster collectors here.

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