Top 100 NBA Players: #15

Clyde Drexler

(Kalb: #50, Simmons: #43, BBR: #23)

Clyde Drexler is considered by most experts to be a second-tier star, not an all-time superstar, but these are misconceptions due to the fact that he was never able to measure up to Michael Jordan when they faced each other in the 1992 NBA Finals, but is there anybody who could?

Drexler was a great all-around player, averaging over 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in 6 straight seasons during his prime, and during that same period he led the Trail Blazers to some of the best seasons in their history. In 1990, he led the Blazers from the third seed in the West to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. The next season Portland had the best regular season record, but lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 1992, he again led the Blazers to the Finals, but they once again lost, this time to the Chicago Bulls. Many people remember Drexler for losing in those years, but he averaged over 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists per game during all three of those playoff campaigns and was by far the best player on his team, while the teams he lost to had great supporting stars.

Drexler suffered injuries during the next season, which caused people to forget about him as other teams began to dominate in the West, and when he became healthy again, Portland was no longer a championship contender, so he requested a trade and was sent to his hometown of Houston to be reunited with college teammate Hakeem Olajuwon. That season, the two superstars led the Rockets from the sixth seed in the West to their second straight NBA title, which finally earned Drexler his ring.

Many people try to discount Clyde's NBA championship by saying that he was no longer a star player when he won his title, and while he was no longer in his prime, he was definitely still a player capable of dominating. If you look at his stats in 1992, his best season, and 1995, when he won his title, you'll see that the dropoff isn't that big:

Drexler (1992) - 25.0 pts, 6.6 reb, 6.7 ast, 1.8 stl, .470 FG%, .337 3P%, .794 FT%
Drexler (1995) - 21.8 pts, 6.3 reb, 4.8 ast, 1.8 stl, .461 FG%, .360 3P%, .824 FT%

Drexler also played much bigger than his position. He is the all-time leader for offensive rebounds among guards, and is third all-time in overall rebounds and blocked shots for guards. The only guards with more rebounds are Jason Kidd and Oscar Robertson, and the only guards with more blocks are Ron Harper and Michael Jordan. He is also one of three players in history to reach 20,000 points, 6,000 rebounds, and 6,000 assists during his career, joining John Havlicek and Oscar Robertson.

Robertson reached his peak early, then dropped off slowly throughout the rest of his career, while Drexler built up to his peak for a few seasons, then maintained it for several seasons. He also had a rebirth in Houston for one season that was much better than anything Robertson did after he went to Milwaukee. Both won titles late in their careers as #2 guys to some of the all-time greatest centers, but Drexler led Portland to two Finals while he was the star, something the Big O never did. The two spent an equal amount of time as superstars, and each earned a ring, but the difference here is what Clyde did in the playoffs while he was still the man.