PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – One day after Paul Allen's estate announced it has started the process of selling the Portland Trail Blazers, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is advocating to keep Portland’s ties to the National Basketball Association.

On Wednesday, Sen. Wyden sent a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, describing Portland -- and Oregon's -- love for the Blazers.

“Portland, Oregon and the NBA have proven a winning combination since 1970 – with the city and our entire state teaming up to be a vital part of the NBA’s DNA for the last 55 years,” Wyden wrote to Silver. “With Trail Blazers ownership announcing its formal sale process of the team this week, I write as Oregon’s senior senator proud to represent my fellow Trail Blazers fans to say there is no place in America with a deeper base of hoops support than in Portland and throughout Oregon.”

“I know because I was here in Portland that June day in 1977 when Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas led the Blazers past Philadelphia to win the NBA championship, setting off a tidal wave of Blazermania capped off with an unforgettable downtown celebration,” the senator continued.

“I know because Portland is synonymous for basketball fans wherever I go with the phrase 'Rip City' coined by the late and legendary Bill Schonely because of his baritone voice booming with joy on the radio when Geoff Petrie, Clyde Drexler and countless other Blazers made a big shot.”

"I know from attending games at the Memorial Coliseum and more recently at the Moda Center where I left with my ears ringing at the enthusiastic roar of the crowd throughout the four-overtime playoff thriller in May 2019 when Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum willed Portland past Denver," Wyden furthered. "And I know because as I travel across the state for open-to-all town halls and other community meetings, I see Oregonians sporting Blazers gear who are hooping in Hermiston, shooting in Sherwood, rebounding in Roseburg and … well, you get the idea."

“Please know that I stand ready to contribute however I can to continuing the long-established and successful partnership between Portland and the NBA,” Wyden concluded.

The letter comes as Nike Co-founder Phil Knight released a statement saying he is no longer interested in buying the team, as reported by Bloomberg News.

“Five years ago, when I was a younger man, I had a great interest in being a part of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise,” Knight said in a statement to Bloomberg. “However, at my current age, I can confirm that I no longer have interest in acquiring the team.”

Speculation that Knight wanted to buy the team stemmed from his previous bid in 2022, when he made an offer of $2 billion following former Blazers owner Paul Allen's death in 2018.

Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, died at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Now, his sister Jody Allen has served as a chair and the primary trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust.

Jody Allen turned down Knight’s offer at the time, stating there were no ongoing discussions about the sale of her brother’s teams. 

Allen bought the blazers for $70 million. This year, CNBC reported the team is worth $3.65 billion. All those proceeds will go to charity, per Allen’s wishes.

KOIN 6 News has reached out to the NBA. This story will be updated if we receive a response.