NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 14. Clyde Drexler
Already a three-time All-Star and an All-NBA selection at the dawn of the new decade, Clyde Drexler just kept rolling along for the Portland Trail Blazers into the 1990s.
Drexler made five more All-Star teams and was a three-time All-NBA pick in the 1990s with Portland, finishing second in the MVP voting in 1991-92.
He was fifth in the NBA in total points and points per game in 1991-92.
Drexler also helped the Blazers to two NBA Finals in the decade, losing in five games to the Detroit Pistons in 1990 and in six games to the Chicago Bulls in 1992.
In the 1990 NBA Finals, Drexler averaged 26.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals in 40.8 minutes per game, shooting.543/2-for-12/.757.
In the Finals in 1992, he put up a stat line of 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.3 steals and a block in 39.7 minutes per game on .407/.150/.893 shooting.
In February 1995, Drexler was traded to the Houston Rockets with Tracy Murray in exchange for Otis Thorpe, Marcelo Nicola and a first-round pick in 1995.
In parts of six seasons with Portland in the 1990s, Drexler averaged 22 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 35.3 minutes per game, shooting .461/.321/.798.
Drexler made two more All-Star teams with the Rockets and was an All-NBA pick in 1994-95.
He also won his lone NBA title in 1995 when Houston swept the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. In that series, 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.
Drexler retired in May 1998 after announcing in March he would become the new head coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston, the following season.
With the Rockets in parts of four seasons, Drexler averaged 19 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 steals in 36.7 minutes per game, shooting .445/.339/.785.
The 14th overall pick by the Trail Blazers out of Houston in 1983, Drexler was 12th in the 1990s with 12,711 points, 18th with 3,448 assists, 12th with 1,106 steals and 14th with an average of 20.9 points per game.
In two seasons as head coach at Houston, Drexler was 19-39 and resigned after the 1999-2000 season.
Named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team while still active in 1997, Drexler was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.