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Houston Rockets: Clyde Drexler’s Career-Defining Moments

ByMauricio Putz|
Feb 16, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; NBA legend Clyde Drexler speaks while Julius Erving looks on during the 2014 NBA All-Star Game Legends Brunch at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 16, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; NBA legend Clyde Drexler speaks while Julius Erving looks on during the 2014 NBA All-Star Game Legends Brunch at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Happy belated birthday to Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler.

Coming into the league via the 14th overall pick of the 1983 NBA Draft, 21-year-old Clyde Drexler joined Dr. Jack Ramsey’s Portland Trail Blazers in what would be a fruitful and productive 10-and-a-half-year relationship.

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During his tenure with the Trail Blazers, The Glide averaged a solid 20.7 points per game while shooting .500/.292/.786 as he quickly turned into one of the NBA’s most versatile players.

And it was only midway through the 1994-95 season — in an effort to reinforce their 1994-95 title defense — that the Houston Rockets, in arguably the greatest trade in franchise history, sent Otis Thorpe, the rights to Marcelo Nicola and the 19th pick of the 1995 NBA Draft (which eventually turned into Randolph Childress) to the Portland Trail Blazers for Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray.

This consequently giving Drexler the long-overdue chance to finally win his first and only NBA title.

Upon arrival, Clyde Drexler gave the Houston Rockets an edge that eventually turned them into the only team — besides Michael Jordan‘s Chicago Bulls — to win multiple titles in the ’90s.

Now, a day after the birthday of one of the greatest/most impactful NBA players of all-time — and a crucial piece of the “Clutch City” Houston Rockets — we look back at Hall of Famer Clyde “The Glide” Drexler’s career-defining moments.

3. Dunk Contest

Clyde Drexler’s Slam Dunk Contest record is a direct reflection of his professional career as a basketball player.

During his 16 years in the league, The Glide had a 1-2 record in the NBA Finals — as the leader of the Portland Trail Blazers he fell to Isiah Thomas‘ Detroit Pistons in 1989-90, and to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in 1991-92. Throughout his five NBA Slam Dunk contests, Drexler was 0-for-5 for the dunk title.

In 1989 he came in second after being edged by Kenny Walker.

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2. The Dream Team

Although not as a starter — as a shooting guard, he had to take the starting position from the greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan —  Clyde Drexler was fortunate enough to be a part of arguably the most impactful basketball moment of the decade and one of the pivotal moments for Olympic basketball.

Three years after FIBA changed the rules to allow professional basketball players to participate in the Olympics, the relationship between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas — or total lack thereof — was the main reason why Clyde Drexler was eventually able to join Michael, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, and Duke Blue Devil Christian Laettner in their fairy tale gold-medal run against the world.

The overwhelming amount of talent that plagued the Dream Team proved to be too much for the rest of the world to handle. However, the impact said team had over basketball, on a worldwide basis, was unbelievable.

The Dream Team has been deemed responsible of sparking the unequivocal wave of international talent that floods the NBA nowadays.

2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute
2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute

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    • 1. 1994-95 NBA Championship

    After (sort of) stumbling through an 11-7 record throughout the playoffs — during which every series except the West Finals against the San Antonio Spurs went the distance — the Houston Rockets squared off against Shaquille O’Neal‘s Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals. Coming into the series, the Rockets were the overwhelming favorites.

    Of course, his sole championship came at the cusp of arguably one of the most dominant playoff performances of all-time from the hands of Hakeem Olajuwon.

    And even though the team was loaded with a superb amount of talent — Kenny Smith, Robert Horry, and, obviously “The Dream” — Clyde’s impact on the Houston Rockets’ second title in a row is undeniable, he led the Houston Rockets in assists per game (6.75) and was the second-leading scorer (21.5 points) of the NBA Finals.

    Clyde Drexler retired after the 1997-98 season but not after cementing his position as one of the greatest shooting guards to ever play the game. The Glide was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2004.

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