Clyde Drexler

The 10-time All-Star player and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Clyde Austin Drexler is an ex-professional NBA player. In 1996, the 6’7” shooting guard from Louisiana was named one of the five greatest players of basketball of all times by NBA.

While growing up, Drexler attended the Ross Sterling High School and got noticed for his 34 points and 27 rebounds in a match against the Sharpstown High School in 1979. Coming out of High School, Drexler attended the University of Houston and took part in 2 successive Final Four but the team lost the finals to North Carolina. In 1982, Drexler averaged 15.2 points with 10.5 rebounds in the match that Houston lost with 25-8.

Houston finished the 1982-83 Final Four with number 1 ranking after defeating team Louisiana who was then known as the “Doctors of Dunk”. When leaving Houston, Drexler has averaged 14.4 points with 9.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

The Portland Trail Blazers drafted Drexler in the first round pick of the 1983 NBA Draft. Along with his team, Drexler led the Blazers to the finals of the NBA tournament in 1990 against the Detroit Pistons and again in 1992 against the Chicago Bulls. Drexler represented his country in the basketball team at the 1992 Olympics and grabbed a gold medal at Barcelona.

In February of 1995, honoring Drexler’s request, the Blazers traded him with the Houston Rockets. Along with friend-cum-teammate Hakeem Olajuwon, Drexler boosted the Rockets to their second successive championships in 1995 and won against Orlando Magic. Appearing for the NBA Finals for the third time, Drexler averaged 21.5 points with 9.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. All through his career, Drexler played wearing the number 22 jersey.

Drexler has acquired a total of 22,195 points during his entire career along with 6677 rebounds, 6125 assists and 2207 steals. His career best of 27.2 points came from the 1988-89 season while playing with the Blazers. He averages 20.4 points per game for his entire NBA career.

Drexler retired from professional basketball in 1997-98 after staying with the Rockets for 3 more seasons. Post-retirement, he was hired by the University of Houston to coach the university’s basketball team as a head coach. Presently, he works for the Houston Rockets as a color commentator.

Career Highlights

Drexler won the gold at the 1992 Olympic gamed held in Barcelona.

Won the 1995 NBA finals with his Rockets team.

For 10 times, Drexler was part of the NBA All-Star games.