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 (appr ...

player and the commissioner of the

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

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 sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(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 league's Western Con ...

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 team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. He was a ten-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Drexler won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

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 pres ...

, 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 ( , ,New Orleans

, 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 ...

area in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

.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 area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. 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 Zina Lynna Garrison (born November 16, 1963) is an American former professional tennis player. Garrison was the runner-up in singles at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, a three-time major mixed doubles champion, and an Olympic gold and bronze m ...

.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 Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

as a senior. He began receiving attention from college coaches following a 34-point, 27-rebound performance against

Sharpstown High School Sharpstown High School is a secondary school at 7504 Bissonnet Street in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas, United States with a zip code of 77074. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Houston Independent School District. The sc ...

during a 1979 Christmas tournament. After graduating in 1980, he was recruited by

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

, and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, the latter after childhood friend Michael Young told an assistant to head coach

Guy Lewis Guy Vernon Lewis II (March 19, 1922 – November 26, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Houston from 1956 to 1986. Lewis led his Houston Cougars to five appearanc ...

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-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets a ...

(known then as Akeem), comprised the "

Phi Slama Jama Phi Slama Jama was a name given to the men's college basketball teams of the Houston Cougars from 1982 to 1984. Coined by former ''Houston Post'' sportswriter Thomas Bonk, the nickname was quickly adopted by the players and even appeared on team w ...

" 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. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

. 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 included schools from Oklahoma ...

) 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 Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

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 circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' 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.Database Basketball

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. In the 1989–1990 season, Drexler led the Portland Trail Blazers to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

, averaging 26.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists, but his team lost to 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

in five games. In the 1990–1991 season Drexler led Portland to a franchise-best 63–19 record. Heavily favored to win the West, the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

in MVP voting. He met Jordan's

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

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. In 1992, 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 coast of northeastern 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 ...

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 and sent the Blazer great back home to the

, along with

Tracy Murray Tracy, Tracey, or Tracie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tracy (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname, also encompassing spelling variations Places United States * Tracy, C ...

in exchange for

Otis Thorpe Otis Henry Thorpe (born August 5, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston Ro ...

, the draft rights of Marcelo Nicola, and a 1995 first-round draft pick 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

helped propel them to an improbable second consecutive championship in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, sweeping 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.

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 most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, 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 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, 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 ...

, 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 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, 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 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, 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 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, 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 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, 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 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

, 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 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, 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 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, 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 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, 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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, 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;",

† , 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 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, 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 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, 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 frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 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 The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

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

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 league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

May 9, 199

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 slam dunk, 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 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, 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.

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

. 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 in ...

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

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

broadcaster

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

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 Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

. 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 or works of ...

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, run the family

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...

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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/ U.S. Highway 5 ...

. 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 Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

show ''

Pros vs. Joes ''Pros vs. Joes'' was an American physical reality game show that aired on Spike from 2006 to 2010. The show featured male amateur contestants (the "Joes") matching themselves against professional athletes (the "Pros"; mostly of retired male and ...

'', 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 ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' with partner Elena Grinenko."Meet the New Cast of 'Dancing With the Stars'"
–

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...

– 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 The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States) Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, an ...

'' in which he helped the men's team "Rock Solid" complete a task to create video advertisements for

Right Guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

References

External links

*
Clyde Drexler
at NBA Encyclopedia

at the

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 ...

*
University of Houston Digital Library photos of Clyde Drexler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drexler, Clyde 1962 births Living people African-American basketball players 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 National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association 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 Sportspeople from New Orleans Sportspeople from Houston United States men's national basketball team players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

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