Happy 63rd Birthday, Clyde Drexler
- Jake C
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on June 22 as Clyde Drexler turns 63.
Drexler, a native of New Orleans, La., grew up in the South Park neighborhood of Houston. Drexler would eventually become a rarity, playing his high school, college, and then his latter professional days in the state in which he grew up.
Between his freshman and sophomore years at Sterling High School, Drexler grew seven inches. His high school coach initially did not welcome him on the team because Drexler was unable to complete the coach’s calisthenics exercises. However, in pickup games Drexler would play and beat the varsity team, so his coach had a change of heart.
As a senior, Drexler, now 6 feet, 7 inches tall, played center for Sterling, and in a game against Sharpstown High School in a 1979 Christmas tournament scored 34 points and grabbed 27 rebounds.
In three years as a Houston Cougar, Drexler averaged 14.4 points and 9.9 rebounds over 95 starts, playing 35 minutes per game and shooting 53.8% from the field. As a junior - 15.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.3 steals - he was named the Southwest Conference Player of the Year and was a 2nd team All-American.
In 1982, the Cougars led by Drexler and Hakeem (then Akeem) Olajuwon, lost in the National Semifinal to the University of North Carolina 68-63, and in 1983 lost in the National Championship game to North Carolina State. In the ‘82 semifinal, Drexler shot 6-of-12 and scored 17 points with 9 rebounds in all 40 minutes.
Drexler, who came out of Houston after his junior year, was drafted 14th overall in 1983 by the Portland Trail Blazers, in a draft where the University of Virginia’s Ralph Sampson went No.1 and Dale Ellis, Doc Rivers, and Jeff Malone were also selected.
As a rookie, Drexler averaged 7.7 points on just seven shots and 17.2 minutes per game. The Blazers were good, winners of 48 games with Jim Paxson an all-star leading the team in scoring with 21.3 points. Calvin Natt averaged 16.2 points and Mychal Thompson averaged 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds.
In his second season, Drexler started forty-three of eighty games and averaged 17.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.2 steals on 49.4% shooting in 32 minutes per game. He finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting to the Boston Celtics’ Kevin McHale.
After his first all-star campaign in 1985-86 where he averaged 18.5 points, 8.0 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 steals on 47.5% shooting, Drexler became a full time starter in 1986-87. That season, he started all 82 games and averaged 21.7 points, 6.9 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.5 steals on 50.2% shooting with his shots increased from fifteen the previous season to seventeen.
The 1987-88 season began a run of seven consecutive all-star games for Drexler, with the guard averaging 27.0 points (6.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.5 steals) on 50.6% shooting (twenty-one shots per game). He made 2nd team All-NBA and finished fifth in MVP voting as the Blazers won 53 games and made the playoffs though they lost to the Utah Jazz in the first round.
Drexler averaged a career-high 27.2 points and career-high 7.9 rebounds with 5.8 assists and 2.7 steals in 1988-89 shooting 49.6% on twenty-one shots per game. He started all 78 games that he played in.
After a 39-43 season in 1988-89, the Blazers won 59 games and won the Western Conference in 1989-90, led by Drexler’s 23.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game on 49.4% shooting. He made All-NBA 3rd team (over the next two seasons, he would make 2nd and 1st team while 3rd team in 1994-95). In the 1990 Finals against the Detroit Pistons, Drexler scored 33 points in Game 2 and 34 points in Game 4. He shot 54.3% for the series and averaged 26.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists.
Two seasons later, the Blazers won 57 games and won the Western Conference again. Drexler averaged 25.0 points, 6.7 assists, and 6.6 rebounds on 47% shooting and finished second in MVP voting to Michael Jordan, who he would meet in the Finals.
In Game 3 of the Blazers’ first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Drexler scored 42 points and had 12 assists and 9 rebounds on 14-of-23 shooting. It was the first of thirteen games in that playoff run where he scored 25 or more points.
Notable Clyde Drexler Games in 1992 Playoffs
Game 3 of 1st round vs. LAL (OT): 42 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds, 14-of-23 FG, 46 mins
Game 3 of 2nd round vs PHX: 37 points 7 rebounds, 15-of-30 FG, 39 mins
Game 4 of 2nd round vs. PHX (2OT): 33 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 12-of-23 FG, 51 mins
Game 5 of 2nd round vs. PHX: 34 points, 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 14-of-22 FG, 42 mins
Game 2 of WCF vs. UTA: 36 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 12-of-23 FG, 43 mins
Game 2 of NBA Finals vs. CHI (OT): 26 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 8-of-20 FG, 38 mins
Game 3 of NBA Finals vs. CHI: 32 points, 9 rebounds, 9-of-17 FG, 2-of-4 3PT, 12-of-12 FT, 42 mins
Game 5 of NBA Finals vs. CHI: 30 points and 10 rebounds, 9-of-21 FG, 12-of-14 FT, 41 mins
1992 Finals averages: 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists.
Forty-one games into the 1994-95 season, Drexler was traded to the Houston Rockets for Otis Thorpe, where he reunited with college teammate Olajuwon. In his last two seasons in Portland, Drexler averaged 19.9 and 19.2 points and in his final forty-one games as a Blazer averaged 22.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists.
In Drexler’s last full season in Portland in 1993-94, the team won 47 games, and Cliff Robinson, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, and Buck Williams - all of whom were major contributors on the ‘90 and ‘92 Finals teams - were still key contributors. Williams averaged 10.4 rebounds per game in ‘93-’94. Rod Strickland, signed by the Trail Blazers in 1992, averaged 17.2 points and 9.0 assists in ‘93-’94.
Starting thirty-four games and averaging thirty-seven minutes per game for the remainder of 1994-95 with the Rockets, Drexler in fifteen attempts per game made 50.6% for a 21.4 points per game average with 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.8 steals. The Rockets won 47 games and finished third in the Midwest division and sixth overall in the Western Conference. Despite this, the team made it all the way to the NBA Finals by virtue of a 3-2 series win in the first round over the Jazz, a 4-3 Western Conference Semifinal over the Suns, and a 4-2 Western Conference Final win over the San Antonio Spurs, which set up a date with Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, and the Orlando Magic, a team that won 57 games in the regular season, in the Finals.
Notable Clyde Drexler Games in 1995 Playoffs
Game 2 of 1st round vs. UTA: 30 points, 7 assists, 12-of-17 FG, 3-of-5 3PT, 38 mins
Game 4 of 1st round vs. UTA: 41 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 12-of-18 FG, 4-of-8 3PT, 41 mins
Game 5 of 1st round vs. UTA: 31 points, 10 rebounds, 8-of-15 FG, 5-of-7 3PT, 10-of-14 FT, 47 mins
Game 3 in WCSF vs. PHX: 23 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 8-of-14 FG, 3-of-5 3PT, 36 mins
Game 7 WCSF vs. PHX: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 11-of-19 FG, 6-of-7 FT, 41 mins
Game 1 of NBA Finals (OT): 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists, 7-of-19 FG, 8-of-8 FT, 48 mins
Game 2 of NBA Finals: 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, 7-of-10 FG, 9-of-12 FT, 32 mins
Game 3 of NBA Finals: 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists, 9-of-18 FG, 6-of-10 FT, 41 mins
Game 4 of NBA Finals: 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, 4-of-13 FG, 7-of-8 FT, 41 mins.
“Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion!” was Rocket head coach Rudy Tomjanovic’s legendary line during the on-court celebration and recognition of the 1995 champions. The Rockets won nine playoff games in that playoff run, including the two in Orlando in the Finals.
What had eluded them in college, Drexler and Olajuwon shared together in the NBA.
In the ensuing seasons after the title, Drexler twice was an all-star for the ninth and tenth times. In the 1995-96 season, he averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.0 steals in 51 starts (38 minutes per game). In the 1996-97 season, he averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 62 starts, playing 37 minutes per game.
The Rockets traded for Charles Barkley in the summer of 1996 after a second round defeat at the hands of the Seattle SuperSonics, and in 1997 made the Western Conference Finals where they lost in crushing fashion to the Jazz in six games. In the Game 6 defeat, Drexler scored 33 points on 10-of-15 shots (5-of-7 triples and 8-of-8 from the line) in what was his final great playoff performance.
In his last NBA season of 1997-98, Drexler started all 70 games played and averaged 35.3 minutes per game. He averaged 18.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.9 rebounds.
In twelve seasons as a Trail Blazer, Drexler started 950 out of 1,086 games, shot 47.2% from the field in 35 minutes and averaged 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.1 steals, though his impact was even greater than those numbers when you consider his limited opportunities as a rookie and that he really did not start to get superstar shot attempts and opportunities until his fourth season, From the 1986-87 through to the 1991-92 season, he never averaged less than 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. From 1985-86 through to 1988-89, he averaged 2.6, 2.5, 2.5, and 2.7 steals per game. Three times he finished in the top 10 in MVP voting, with a sixth-place finish in 1991 preceding his 1992 second-place finish along with his fifth-place finish in 1988. A swooper. A soarer. A complete player.
Throughout the majority of his career, there was no doubt who the second best shooting guard in the NBA was. He resided in Portland, and when you think of Blazer basketball since they were founded in 1970, you think Bill Walton, Drexler, and more recently Damian Lillard. Drexler, after the title season of ‘77 and the greatness of Walton, gave Portland another superstar in the making after the franchise drafted him in 1983, just four seasons after Walton’s departure in ‘79. A transition from one Hall of Famer to the other that did not take years and years like it does with some other franchises.
Drexler holds the Houston Cougars’ program record for steals in a season with 113, which he accomplished in his final college season as a junior. He holds Trail Blazer season records for points, two-point field-goals, and field-goals made, all of which he accomplished in 1987-88 (2,185, 838, and 849) and is tied with Sidney Wicks for the Blazers’ triple-double single-season record. In the 1985-86, 1988-89, and 1990-91 seasons, Drexler recorded four triple-doubles, which Wicks accomplished in 1972-73. In 2004, Drexler was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Happy 63rd Birthday, Clyde ”The Glide”.
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