Saturday, September 10, 2016

Top 100 NBA Players: #19 - Clyde Drexler


Clyde Drexler

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 fourth all-time in overall rebounds and fifth in blocked shots for guards. The only guards with more rebounds are Jason Kidd, Oscar Robertson, and Kobe Bryant, and the only guards with more blocks are Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, and Vince Carter. He is also one of five players in history to reach 20,000 points, 6,000 rebounds, and 6,000 assists during his career, joining John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.

1 comment:

  1. When acquiring online, we should be actually mindful. If you plan to acquire NBA 2K MT, I recommend you check out the NBA2K21MT.COM website, you can look NBA2K21MT at Google when you can discover this internet site. which is a truly reliable site. Given that my friends furthermore acquired MT on this website, their distribution rate is truly quick, because they have 24-hour online client support to refine your order. Do not tension over being tricked, since the website has in fact been officially accredited by McAfee and also Norton. If you quit working to efficiently complete the order, the client treatment division will absolutely furthermore compensate your cost. Unlike automated consumer support on numerous other web sites, customer service on this site is a sensible online response to queries. You can ask all the information you wish to know prior to buying it.

    In NBA2K21MT, fast distribution and also ideal NBA2K MT price safe buyers and vendors. Many gamers depend on our website, and additionally we are striving to make it better. When playing NBA 2K21, the least hazardous means to buy 2KMT is via a reliable resource. The more positive testimonies you can find, the higher the chance of successful trading. Nba2k21mt was also ranked as five-star. I also wagered years and likewise brought MT coins from nba2k21mt.

    ReplyDelete