Houston Rockets: 25 Best Players To Play For The Rockets
By Phil Watson
1995-98. Clyde Drexler. 7. player. 169. <strong>How acquired:</strong> Trade, Portland Trail Blazers, Feb. 14, 1995.. SG
The Houston Rockets were the defending NBA champions, but were looking for a shakeup in February 1995 when they acquired All-Star Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Otis Thorpe, the rights to Marcelo Nicola and a first-round pick in 1995.
Drexler gave the Rockets the boost they sought, helping them to a second straight title in 1995, earning two All-Star nods for Houston and being named All-NBA in 1994-95.
In the 1995 NBA Finals, Drexler averaged 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and a steal in 40.5 minutes per game, shooting .450/2-for-13/.789 in a four-game sweep of the Orlando Magic.
He retired in May 1998 to take the head coaching job at the University of Houston.
In parts of four seasons in Houston, Drexler averaged 19 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 steals in 36.7 minutes per game, shooting .445/.339/.785.
Drexler was an All-American as a junior at Houston, averaging 15.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while leading the Cougars to the national final.
He was the 14th overall pick out of Houston by the Trail Blazers in the 1983 NBA Draft and was an eight-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection for Portland.
He resigned as coach at the University of Houston after two seasons with a record of 19-39.
Drexler is 49th in NBA history with 37,537 minutes played, 32nd with 6,125 assists, 30th with 22,195 points, seventh with 2,207 steals, 48th with an average of 20.4 points per game and 11th with an average of 2.0 steals per game
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.
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