Established
2000
City
Portland
League History
2000 – 2002 / Women’s National Basketball Association
Team History
2002 – 2002 / Portland Fire
Nickname
Fire – The Portland Fire is a professional Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Oregon. The franchise was founded in 2000 and has since become one of the most successful teams in the league, reaching multiple WNBA Finals appearances. But what many fans may not know is that the team’s nickname has an exciting story behind it.
When Portland first announced its expansion into the WNBA, it held a contest to decide on its official name and logo design. After much deliberation, they chose “Fire” as their nickname due to its strong ties with Oregon’s history and culture. Fire played an essential role for Native Americans who lived throughout this region long before settlers arrived centuries ago; the fire was used for warmth during cold winters, cooking food, and providing light at night hours when no other illumination sources were available back then!
Additionally, members from local tribes would often use smoke signals or bonfires to communicate with each other over large distances - something which also inspired part of Portland Fire's logo design today! As you can see from these examples alone – even though it might seem like just another sports mascot at first glance – there are some profound meanings associated with why this particular name was chosen by those who created it all those years ago...
Championship
WNBA Championships 0
Arena
2000 – 2002 / Rose Garden Arena
Owner
2000 – 2002 / Paul Allen
- 2000
- 2002
-
Fire Team Creation
By 2000, the league had expanded to 16 teams, with the Detroit Shock and Washington Mystics joining the league in 1998, the Minnesota Lynx and Orlando Miracle in 1999, and the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and Seattle Storm in 2000. -
Fire Close Down
The 2002 season proved to be the Portland Fire’s swan song season, but most improved. 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 underachieving TrailBlazers team put him out of the running to buy the Fire ...
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
History of the Fire
The Portland Fire was a professional women's basketball team that played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 2000 to 2002. The franchise was founded by John Nash, owner of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and it was one of two expansion teams added to the league for its third season. The Fire won their first game against Los Angeles Sparks on June 10th, 2000, and finished with an overall record of 18-42 in their first two seasons combined.
The team had some notable players, such as Jackie Stiles, who led all rookies in scoring during her rookie season with 13 points per game; she also holds multiple NCAA records for most points scored throughout her college career at Southwest Missouri State University. Other memorable players include Rita Williams, who averaged 11 points per game over three seasons with Portland, and former All-Star guard Ticha Penicheiro who averaged 8 assists per contest while playing for them between 2001 -2002 before being traded away midseason due to financial difficulties faced by the organization at that time.
Despite having some talented individuals on the roster, lack of success on the court meant that attendance figures were not high enough, which eventually resulted in the franchise folding after just three years since inception despite making playoffs once during this period when they lost Conference Finals series against eventual champions Los Angeles Sparks 2–1 back in 2002. Although short-lived, the legacy left behind by this team will be remembered fondly amongst sports fans from the Pacific Northwest region forever as it gave many young female athletes a chance to showcase their skills live, nationally televised games across the United States, allowing them to pursue their dreams of becoming professional basketball player like never before!
Sports Fan Products
Retired Number
*Blue is this team’s history