Clyde Drexler:

He was recruited by UH after "Phi Slama Jama" alumnus teammate Michael Young told an assistant to head coach Guy Lewis that Drexler was the best player he had faced in high school. Attended the University of Houston where, alongside Young, Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Micheaux, they constituted the "Phi Slama Jama" basketball fraternity renowned for its acrobatic, "above the rim" style of play. Drexler helped lead the Cougars to consecutive Final Four appearances in 1982 and 1983, losing the 1983 NCAA Final to underdog North Carolina State.

NBA career

In 1992 he was selected to the U.S. Olympics basketball team, nicknamed "The Dream Team", which won the gold medal in Barcelona. In the 1991-92 season he finished second to Michael Jordan in MVP voting.^[3] He would meet Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals that same season only to fall short, as Jordan and the Bulls went on to win their second consecutive championship. In the six-game series against Chicago, Drexler averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.^[4]

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 and sent the Blazer great to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Otis Thorpe in mid-season, 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 Hakeem Olajuwon helped propel them to an improbable second consecutive championship in 1995, sweeping the Orlando Magic. In his second NBA Finals appearance, Drexler averaged 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.8 assist per game.^[5]

During the 1995 NBA Playoffs, Drexler was the subject of a controversial ejection during a game between the Rockets and Phoenix Suns by referee Jake O'Donnell, which allegedly stemmed from a personal feud between the two at the time.^[6]. This would turn out to be the last NBA game O'Donnell would referee, as he was not assigned any further games in the playoffs that year, and eventually retired a few months later. In 1996, on ESPN's "NBA Today", O'Donnell commented, "I wouldn't give Clyde Drexler much leeway because of the way he reacted with me all the time. I thought at times he would give cheap shots to people, and I just would not allow it."^[7]

NBA statistics

Playing style

Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, as he was nicknamed at Houston, 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. This versatility led him to nearly receive a quadruple double twice in his career (January 10, 1986, Portland at Milwaukee; 26 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals; and November 1, 1996, Houston vs. Sacramento; 25 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 10 steals). He also posted a considerable number of blocked shots for a player his size, ranking third for his career totals among guards.

He is one of only three players in NBA history to have posted career totals of at least 20,000 points, 6,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists (the two others being Oscar Robertson and John Havlicek). As of 2008, Drexler leads all guards with his career average of offensive rebounds with 2.4 per game.

College coaching career

Drexler stayed with the Rockets for three more seasons before retiring from the NBA after the 1997-98 season in order to become head men's basketball coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston.

Drexler coached the Cougars in 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. After compiling a 19-37 record in his two seasons, Drexler decided to resign to spend more time with his family.

Honors and tribute

Drexler's #22 jersey has been retired by the Cougars (pictured), Rockets, and Trail Blazers. He was inducted as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 10, 2004, in his first year of eligibility.^[8]

In 2004 Drexler co-authored his biography, Clyde the Glide, with Portland Tribune sports writer Kerry Eggers, and University of Houston classmate and CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz providing the "foreword".^[9]

Awards

Family

Drexler married his wife, Gaynell, on December 30, 1988. He has four children, Erica, Austin, Elise, and Adam, the last three with Gaynell. The Drexlers have a home in the River Oaks-Memorial neighborhood of Houston and another one in the Dunthorpe neighborhood of Portland.^[11]

His brother James and his two sisters, Denise and Virginia, run the family barbecue restaurants in Houston called Drexler's World Famous BBQ & Grill, which includes the "22 Bar". His mother, Eunice Scott, also works at the downtown restaurant that was started by his uncle in 1967. There are two locations, downtown Houston and Bush Intercontinental Airport.^[11]^[12] 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.^[11]^[13]

TV appearances

In 2006 he made a cameo appearance as himself on the family loving basketball movie Like Mike 2.

In 2006, 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.^[14] Drexler was the fourth celebrity to be voted off in round five on April 17, 2007.

Notes

^ Solomon, Jerome. "Clyde's glide carries him to Hall of Fame Election fulfills Drexler's hoop dreams" - Houston Chronicle - (c/o University of Houston) - April 6, 2004
^ "NBA Legends Unveil Tundra Turnaround Court at Delmar Complex" - Houston Independent School District - May 7, 2007
^ "1991-92 NBA MVP Voting". basketballreference.com.
^ "1992 NBA Finals Composite Box Score". basketballreference.com.
^ "1995 NBA Finals Composite Box Score". basketballreference.com.
^ Monroe, Mike (2007-04-17). "Downside also apparent in referee's suspension". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
^ Eggers, Kerry (1996-01-29). "Here's who should be on All-Star teams". CBS SportsLine.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
^ "Clide Drexler's Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Profile.". Retrieved on 2008-04-09
^ Drexler, Clyde, Kerry Eggers, and foreword by Jim Nantz. Clyde the Glide. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing. 2004. ISBN 1582617422
^ NBA.com Biography - NBA - Accessed January 13, 2008
^ ^a ^b ^c Vondersmith, Jason. "Life’s a glide" - Portland Tribune - December 12, 2003
^ "Bush Intercontinental Airport" - USA Today: Travel - February 27, 2007
^ Drexler Holdings LLC at Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - State of Texas-Secretary of State
^ "Meet the New Cast of 'Dancing With the Stars'" - ABC News - February 21, 2007

Clyde Drexler

Contents

Basketball career

High school and college