After the Trail Blazers entered the 1986 Finals, Kossie, as a sophomore rookie, had many emotions—it was the first time in his career.
"In 1986, we entered the Finals. It was only my second year in Portland, and the fans' enthusiasm was astonishing. On the night we won the Western Conference championship, we celebrated and partied with the fans at the Memorial Coliseum—an unforgettable scene.
When I got home, I was so excited I couldn't sleep. I kept flipping through TV channels, looking for sports news, watching reports about the Trail Blazers making it to the Finals. At first, I was thrilled, but my joy didn't last long. I realized that many sports talk shows were saying, 'Portland can't beat Boston; the championship will belong to the Celtics.'
I was furious and wished I could argue with these commentators. We weren't afraid of the Celtics at all. The only home game the Celtics lost during the regular season was to us, and we were confident.
