Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who currently works as the commissioner of the

Big3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3x3 basketball, 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former National Basketb ...

3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), spending a majority of his career with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

before finishing with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. He was a ten-time NBA All-Star, five time All-NBA Selection, and was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Drexler won an NBA championship with Houston in 1995, and earned a gold medal on the 1992 United States Olympic team known as "The Dream Team". He was inducted twice into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

, in 2004 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team". Drexler is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players and greatest shooting guards of all time.

Early years

Drexler was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and lived in the

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

area in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

.Shilcutt, Katharine. "Still Standing." ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

''. Wednesday January 12, 2011
1
. Retrieved on January 13, 2011. He attended Ross Sterling High School in Houston, where he was a classmate of tennis player Zina Garrison.Higdon, David. "Clyde Drexler: Portland's Pride". ''Sports Illustrated for Kids'' February 1993. As a sophomore, he made the varsity baseball team, and tried out for the basketball team but failed to make the cut. Drexler played as a center as a senior. He began receiving attention from college coaches following a 34-point, 27-rebound performance against Sharpstown High School during a 1979 Christmas tournament. After graduating in 1980, he was recruited by New Mexico State University, Texas Tech University, and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, the latter after childhood friend Michael Young told an assistant to head coach Guy Lewis that Drexler was the best player he had faced in high school. Houston was able to recruit them both due to Drexler's friendship with Young and his desire to stay home. Drexler majored in finance and worked at a bank during the summer. Lewis recalled in 2003 that he initially received hate mail from Houston supporters and alumni for recruiting Drexler, as they felt that he was not good enough to play for the school.

College career

Clyde Drexler as a Houston Cougars player

Drexler and Young, along with Larry Micheaux and new recruit

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...

(known then as Akeem), comprised the " Phi Slama Jama" basketball fraternity that gained national attention for its acrobatic, above-the-rim play. New players were "initiated" into the fraternity by having to stand underneath the basket as Drexler drove in from halfcourt and threw down a tomahawk slam over them. Houston made the first of Drexler's two straight Final Four appearances in 1982, where they lost to eventual champions

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He averaged 15.2 points and 10.5 rebounds (second in the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

) per game as a small forward as Houston finished 25–8. The 1982–83 campaign saw Houston return to the Final Four ranked No. 1. They were matched up against No. 2 Louisville and the "Doctors of Dunk" in the semifinals, which Houston won 94–81 following a brilliant dunking display by both sides, including a double-pump slam by Drexler that ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' writer Curry Kirkpatrick called "your basic play of the century".''Clyde Drexler Career Highlights'' No. 14, "Quotes in Mid-Flight." Fleer Corporation, 1993–94 He finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. In the championship game against North Carolina State, Drexler failed to make an impact after picking up four fouls before halftime, and scored only four points on one-of-five shooting and two free throws in NC State's upset victory.Bengtson, Russ. ''Quiet as Kept'', ''Slam'' Magazine, December 1996 Drexler declared for the NBA draft as a junior, leaving Houston with career averages of 14.4 points, 3.3 assists and 9.9 rebounds in three seasons. In addition to being named the Southwestern Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All American his final season,''Clyde Drexler Career Highlights'' No. 3, "Southern Rock n' Roll." Fleer Corporation, 1993–94 he remains the only player in school history with combined totals of at least 1,000 career points, 900 rebounds and 300 assists; he is also Houston's all-time steals leader with 268.

NBA career

Portland Trail Blazers (1983–1995)

In the 1983 NBA draft, Drexler was selected by the

with the 14th overall pick. He averaged 7.7 points in 17.2 minutes per game in his rookie season. These all improved with more playing time in his second season, to 17.2 points, 6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In his third season Drexler made his first All-Star team, averaging 18.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2.6 steals. On January 6, 1989, Drexler scored a career-high 50 points during a double-overtime win over the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. In the 1989–1990 season, Drexler led the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1990 NBA Finals, averaging 23.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists during the season. The Blazers (ranked 3rd in the Western Conference) made it to the Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns. While Drexler only led in scoring in the final two games, the Blazers were bolstered by players such as Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey to a six-game series victory, with Drexler and Porter each scoring 23 in the 112–109 victory that gave Portland its first conference championship since 1977. In the Finals, they played the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Drexler led the Blazers with 21 points in Game 1, but they lost 105–99. In Game 2, Drexler scored 33 points and contributed the go-ahead points in overtime by hitting two free throws with 2.1 seconds to beat Detroit 106–105. It was the only win in the series for the Blazers, who lost narrowly in Game 4 by three and lost the final game after Detroit went on a 9–0 run. During the 1990–1991 season, Drexler led Portland to a franchise-best 63–19 record. He played in every game for the first time in four seasons and averaged 21.5 points per game while having 6.7 rebounds and six assists on average. Heavily favored to win the West, the Los Angeles Lakers upset the Trail Blazers by winning the Western Conference Finals. In the 1991–92 season he made the All-NBA First Team and finished second to

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

in MVP voting, having averaged 25 points per game to go with 6.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists while playing slightly over 35 minutes a game; the Blazers finished 57–25, best in the Western Conference. The Blazers lost just twice in the first two rounds of the postseason, In the Conference Finals, they faced the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. Teammate Terry Porter cited Drexler decades later as the key guy to get the ball to when it came down to late in a game to make plays. Portland won the first two games at home before Utah responded with two victories in Utah. In Game 5, Portland won in overtime to set up a Game 6 in Utah. Porter and Drexler each scored 18 points in the pivotal Game 6 that the Blazers won 105–97 to clinch their second conference championship in three years. Drexler and the Blazers met Jordan and the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the 1992 NBA Finals. In the Finals, Drexler was the leader or tied for the lead in scoring for the Blazers in each of the six games, leading all scorers once in Game 3 with 32 points in a 94–84 loss. Despite forcing a tie series twice, the Bulls pulled a comeback in the fourth quarter to turn a 15-point deficit into a win that clinched the series. In the six-game series against Chicago, Drexler averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Later that year, he was selected to the U.S. Olympic basketball team, nicknamed " The Dream Team", which won the gold medal in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Drexler left as the all-time scoring leader for the Blazers with 18,040 points, which stood as a franchise record until Damian Lillard passed him in 2022.

Houston Rockets (1995–1998)

On February 14, 1995, with the Blazers out of serious contention for a championship, Portland honored Drexler's request to be traded to a contender. They sent the Blazer great back home to the

, along with Tracy Murray in exchange for Otis Thorpe, the draft rights of Marcelo Nicola, and a 1995 first-round draft pick, right before the trade deadline. Despite finishing the regular season with a record of 47–35, which placed the Rockets 6th out of 8 playoff teams in the Western Conference, Drexler and long-time friend

helped propel them to an improbable second consecutive championship in 1995. On May 5, during the first round while down two games to one against the

, Drexler led the Rockets in scoring with 41 points while Olajuwon added 40 in a 123–106 win. Houston would go on to win the deciding Game 5, and then also win every remaining elimination game on their postseason run. In the finals, the Rockets swept the Orlando Magic. In his third and final NBA Finals appearance, Drexler averaged 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Drexler played his last three full seasons with the Rockets. The 1995–96 season saw him average 19.3 points per game in 52 games played, owing to knee and ankle injuries. The Rockets dispatched their first-round opponent in the Lakers to face the Seattle SuperSonics. Drexler led the team in a variety of categories in the series such as rebounds (twice), points (twice), and assists (once), but the Sonics eliminated the Rockets in four games. The following year, the Rockets, having traded for Charles Barkley before the year started, went 21–2 to begin the year, but injuries would pile on the team, with Drexler having a hamstring injury; he was named to the All-Star Game, but he did not play in what ended up as his final selection. Drexler played a total of 62 games while averaging eighteen points a game with six rebounds and 5.7 assists. The Rockets finished 57-25 and made it all the way to the Conference Finals against the Jazz. The Rockets forced six games after winning Game 3 and 4, but the Jazz won in six to end the season. The 1997–98 season was his final season in the NBA. He played in 70 games and averaged 18.4 points a game with 4.9 rebounds (his lowest since his rookie year) and 5.5 assists. These totals led the team (which had less of Olajuwon due to injury), which staggered to a 41–41 record and a playoff spot. The Rockets played the Jazz in the opening round and held a series lead going into Game 4, but an injury to Barkley spelled the end of their chances, as Utah rallied to send Houston home in five games, the first opening round loss for Houston since 1991. Drexler retired at the age of 35, stating his reason as doing so because of his desire to leave on his own terms while still playing at a "high level". At the time of his retirement, Drexler was one of only three players in history with 20,000 points, 6,000 assists and 6,000 rebounds. In fifteen seasons, he never missed the playoffs.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 82 , , 3 , , 17.2 , , .451 , , .250 , , .728 , , 2.9 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 80 , , 43 , , 31.9 , , .494 , , .216 , , .759 , , 6.0 , , 5.5 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 75 , , 58 , , 34.3 , , .475 , , .200 , , .769 , , 5.6 , , 8.0 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 82 , , 82 , , 38.0 , , .502 , , .234 , , .760 , , 6.3 , , 6.9 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , 21.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 81 , , 80 , , 37.8 , , .506 , , .212 , , .811 , , 6.6 , , 5.8 , , 2.5 , , .6 , , 27.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 78 , , 78 , , 39.3 , , .496 , , .260 , , .799 , , 7.9 , , 5.8 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , 27.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 73 , , 73 , , 36.8 , , .494 , , .283 , , .774 , , 6.9 , , 5.9 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , 23.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 82 , , 82 , , 34.8 , , .482 , , .319 , , .794 , , 6.7 , , 6.0 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , 21.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 76 , , 76 , , 36.2 , , .470 , , .337 , , .794 , , 6.6 , , 6.7 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , 25.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 49 , , 49 , , 34.1 , , .429 , , .233 , , .839 , , 6.3 , , 5.7 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 68 , , 68 , , 34.3 , , .428 , , .324 , , .777 , , 6.5 , , 4.9 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 19.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 41 , , 41 , , 34.8 , , .428 , , .363 , , .835 , , 5.7 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 22.0 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 35 , , 34 , , 37.1 , , .506 , , .357 , , .809 , , 7.0 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , 21.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 51 , , 38.4 , , .433 , , .332 , , .784 , , 7.2 , , 5.8 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , 62 , , 36.6 , , .442 , , .355 , , .750 , , 6.0 , , 5.7 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 70 , , 35.3 , , .427 , , .317 , , .801 , , 4.9 , , 5.5 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , 18.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,086 , , 950 , , 34.6 , , .472 , , .318 , , .788 , , 6.1 , , 5.6 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , 20.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 9 , , 4 , , 18.4 , , .506 , , .286 , , 1.000 , , 4.9 , , 2.6 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 10.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1984 , style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 5 , , , , 17.0 , , .429 , , .000 , , .857 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 9 , , 9 , , 37.7 , , .410 , , .286 , , .844 , , 6.1 , , 9.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 4 , , 4 , , 36.3 , , .456 , , .400 , , .783 , , 6.3 , , 6.5 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 4 , , 4 , , 38.3 , , .456 , , .250 , , .793 , , 7.5 , , 3.8 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 24.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 4 , , 4 , , 42.5 , , .386 , , .500 , , .724 , , 7.0 , , 5.3 , , 3.0 , , .5 , , 22.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 3 , , 3 , , 42.7 , , .493 , , .000 , , .765 , , 6.7 , , 8.3 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , 27.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990 , style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 21 , , 21 , , 40.6 , , .441 , , .220 , , .774 , , 7.2 , , 7.1 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , 21.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991 , style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 16 , , 16 , , 39.6 , , .476 , , .268 , , .776 , , 8.1 , , 8.1 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , 21.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 21 , , 21 , , 40.3 , , .466 , , .235 , , .807 , , 7.4 , , 7.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 26.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 3 , , 3 , , 38.7 , , .419 , , .417 , , .800 , , 6.3 , , 4.7 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 4 , , 4 , , 39.3 , , .425 , , .231 , , .826 , , 10.3 , , 5.5 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1995† , style="text-align:left;”,

, 22 , , 22 , , 38.6 , , .481 , , .303 , , .786 , , 7.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , 20.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 8 , , 8 , , 36.5 , , .415 , , .265 , , .765 , , 7.8 , , 5.0 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , 16.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 16 , , 16 , , 38.9 , , .436 , , .373 , , .778 , , 5.6 , , 4.8 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 18.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 5 , , 5 , , 36.4 , , .309 , , .192 , , .757 , , 5.4 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , 15.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 145 , , 140 , , 38.4 , , .447 , , .288 , , .787 , , 6.9 , , 6.1 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , 20.4

Awards

* First-team NCAA All-American (1983) *

Player of the Year (1983) * 10-time NBA All-Star (1986, 1988–1994, 1996, 1997) * All-NBA First Team (1992) * All-NBA Second Team (1988, 1991) * All-NBA Third Team (1990, 1995) * Olympic gold medalist (1992) * NBA championship (1995) * Named one of the

50 Greatest Players in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

(1996) * Two-time

Inductee * Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Inducted (2001) * Named to the

NBA 75th Anniversary Team The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. S ...

(2021)

NBA records

Regular season

Most steals in a half: 8, second half, Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings, Most offensive rebounds by a guard in a career: 2,615 Blocks: 4 vs

May 9, 199
Clyde Drexler , Portland Trail Blazers

Playoffs

Most steals in a 3-game series: 13, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Dallas Mavericks, 1990 Western Conference First round Most steals in a half: 6, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Phoenix Suns,

All-Star Game

Highest free throw percentage for a career: 1.000 (12—12)

Player profile

Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, as he was nicknamed at the University of Houston and throughout his professional career, was famed for his speed and athleticism on the court and his easygoing and quiet demeanor off the court. At the University of Houston, Drexler became well known for his exceptional abilities as a finisher, but generally was not considered a great shooter. During his pro career Drexler developed a much more well-rounded game, even becoming an effective post player and more consistent outside shooter. His extraordinary leaping abilities allowed him to be an acrobatic dunker and Drexler participated in numerous NBA All-Star dunk contests during the late eighties. Drexler was regarded as a versatile player, and he was consistently among the leaders at his position in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He also posted a considerable number of blocked shots for a player his size, ranking third for his career totals among guards. Drexler set a Trail Blazer record in 1989 by dunking on an 11' 1" rim. As of 2008, Drexler leads all guards with his career average of offensive rebounds with 2.4 per game. In 2021, to commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'' ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Drexler as the 43rd greatest player in NBA history.

College coaching career

After retiring from the NBA following the 1997–98 season, he became the head men's basketball coach at his alma mater, the

.Drexler, Clyde with Kerry Eggers. ''Clyde the Glide''. Sports Publishing. 2004. Drexler coached the Cougars in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons. After compiling a 19–39 record in his two seasons, Drexler decided to resign to spend more time with his family.

Head coaching record

Honors

Drexler's No. 22 jersey has been retired by the Cougars (''pictured''), Rockets, and Trail Blazers. He was inducted as a player into the

on September 10, 2004, in his first year of eligibility. He was named one of the

in 1996 and named to the league's 75th anniversary team in 2021. In 2004 Drexler co-authored his biography, ''Clyde the Glide'', with ''

Portland Tribune The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched i ...

'' sports writer Kerry Eggers, and University of Houston classmate and

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

broadcaster Jim Nantz providing the foreword.Drexler, Clyde with Kerry Eggers. ''Clyde the Glide''. Sports Publishing. 2004.

Personal life

Drexler married his wife, Gaynell, on December 30, 1988. They divorced in 2011. He has four children: Erica, Austin, Elise, and Adam (the last three with Gaynell). In 2014 Drexler married his second wife, Tonya, whom he had met through fellow NBA star Dominique Wilkins. Drexler has owned homes in the River Oaks–

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

neighborhood of Houston and in the Dunthorpe suburb of Portland.Vondersmith, Jason
"Life’s a glide"
– ''

'' – December 12, 2003. Retrieved April 28, 2013. His brother James and his two sisters, Denise and Virginia, once ran the family

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

restaurants in Houston called Drexler's World Famous BBQ & Grill, which included the "22 Bar". His mother, Eunice Scott, also worked at the downtown restaurant that was started by his uncle in 1967. There were two locations, downtown Houston and Bush Intercontinental Airport, that have since closed. Drexler also started investing in real estate in his rookie NBA season, and although he is now mostly retired, he does do some managing of his Drexler Holdings LLC, based in downtown Houston.

Books

Drexler is the subject of the book ''Clyde Drexler: Clyde the Glide''. He also wrote the introduction to the children's book ''Shrews Can't Hoop''.

TV appearances

Drexler made a guest appearance on '' Married... with Children'', a cameo appearance in an episode of '' Arliss'', and was also a guest star in an episode of '' The Sentinel''. In 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the basketball movie '' Like Mike 2: Streetball''. That same year, Drexler participated in the first season of the Spike TV show '' Pros vs. Joes'', which features three amateur contestants matching themselves against five professional athletes. Drexler was a member of the regular season Green Team and the season finale Orange Team. On February 21, 2007, it was announced that Drexler would participate in the fourth season of the American version of '' Dancing with the Stars'' with partner Elena Grinenko."Meet the New Cast of 'Dancing With the Stars'"
–

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

– February 21, 2007 Drexler was the fourth celebrity to be voted off in round five on April 17, 2007. On April 11, 2010, Drexler appeared as a guest on NBC's '' Celebrity Apprentice'' in which he helped the men's team "Rock Solid" complete a task to create video advertisements for Right Guard.

References

External links

*
Clyde Drexler
at NBA Encyclopedia

at the Basketball Hall of Fame *
University of Houston Digital Library photos of Clyde Drexler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drexler, Clyde 1962 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from New Orleans Basketball players from Houston College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Houston Cougars men's basketball coaches Houston Cougars men's basketball players Houston Rockets players Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Participants in American reality television series Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Shooting guards Small forwards United States men's national basketball team players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen

Early years

College career

NBA career

Portland Trail Blazers (1983–1995)

Houston Rockets (1995–1998)

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards

NBA records

Regular season

Playoffs

All-Star Game

Player profile

College coaching career

Head coaching record

Honors

Personal life

Books

TV appearances

See also

References

External links