Drexler just ran down the court and put the ball in the basket." - Clyde Drexler Commentary He was very good, if he played in New York they would have considered him god.
Clyde was a great player he was expected to be a 3 when he was drafted because Portland already had an all star 2 guard in Jim Paxson. Paxson got hurt and Clyde became the man in his second season. Clyde was a great rebounder he is still one of the top rebounders in UH history. He could play in the post and could pick apart the defense and you thought he wouldn't pass because of how he dribbled with his head down but he would then drop dimes to his teammates for open shots. The jumping over Andrew Turner in the Sweet 16 in 83 is still legendary. Teams had this knock on him coming out of college because he didn't shoot from outside. but Hakeem said in his book he didn't have to shoot outside because he went to the basket anytime he wanted.
In his third and final NBA Finals appearance, Drexler averaged 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.[12] _______ Drexler was a perfect fit for the 95 Rockets and Hakeem -- especially when you look at his postseason numbers. His short run with the Rockets was a literal fairy tale ending for his career and his long history in Houston makes him a true Clutch City hero.
Grant Hill couldn't shoot a lick or else he would have been a top 10 greatest all time...if he wasn't injured I guess Ben Simmons is what Grant Hill was
The player who reminded me most of Clyde was T-Mac.. Both had that smooth almost effortless style. The difference though was Clyde would really play D and had a lot more heart..
Houston legend. He’s still probably in the top 50 of all time and this is what 20 years or so after that initial list came out? That’s real good. 2nd best SG of his era. Of the other mega mega stars drafted around his time frame, he’s arguably slightly lesser known but I’d rank him 7th in that group anyways. Jordan, Dream, Malone, Barkley, Ewing, Stockton. Clyde the Glide.
Yes. He, Magic, Kidd, etc all developed an outside shot later in career. Let's see if Westbrook can do what HOF like Kidd, Magic, and Hill did
Weren’t the Rockets offered the 3 pick for Sampson? Or something along those lines. Hakeem and Jordan. This is a very entertaining tv show but its main character co produced it so it’s essentially a Jordan puff piece with enough controlled negativity sprinkled in to make it digestible. Lebron is nipping at his heels for GOAT status so this is nice timing to keep his legacy fresh.
Clyde was a really great player who, unfortunately, played at the same time and the same position that the greatest player of all time, and was overshadowed because of it. I absolutely ****ing detest Michael Jordan, but he rightfully took all of the spotlight. Clyde was great, but Michael was just a little better in almost every way. It's really a shame because Clyde is good people, and Michael Jordan is one of the biggest douche-bags in history. It is what it is though.
Getting a big man was the most important thing back then. Actually, by that draft, people were trying to build the "twin towers" concept. Obviously nobody knew Jordan was going to be Jordan, either, but to put it in perspective, here's some stuff I've read and recall, a lot of which proves the "get a big man (or two) when you can" theory back then : Jordan apparently never entered the Blazers' draft thoughts probably because they had Drexler, and like I said, he wasn't Jordan yet. Rod Thorn already has stated if the Bulls had the #1 pick instead of #3, they would've taken Olajuwon, as well. He said whoever had the #1 pick probably would've picked Olajuwon. The Blazers actually had Barkley rated higher than Jordan... again the inside presence. Olajuwon (and others) have stated there was a trade offered where the #2 pick in the draft and Drexler would come to Houston for either Sampson or Olajuwon. The Rockets obviously declined. Apparently Fitch loved Jordan (and Sampson probably drove him nuts... lol) and they almost traded Sampson for Jordan again after the 85 or 86 season. The Bulls tried to move up in the '84 draft and get Olajuwon at some point, but nothing materialized -- not sure what was discussed. Jordan has always said he wanted to play with Ralph Sampson since college. He tried to go to Virginia to play with Sampson but they didn't seem all that interested. He thought if Houston got the #2 pick they would draft him and he would've loved that because he'd finally get to play with Sampson. Rod Thorn said if Jordan hadn't been there, they probably would've taken Perkins over Bowie and Barkley because they thought Barkley was too short and they were scared of Bowie's leg issues coming out. The only exception to the big man theory was apparently had Houston been #2, they would have taken Jordan, or I think I remember reading that. This may have been because of Bowie's injury issues, but I'm not sure.
Clyde (Glyde) was incredibly smooth. You are so right. Amazing to watch him flow down the court with his head down.
Back then the thought was if there was a great big and guard available you always take the big guy because you can't teach height. Pretty much every NBA offense was designed to get the ball to the big man and work off of that the Pistons and Bulls couldn't do that because they never had that low post guy so they build around their guard play. Rockets would have taken Jordan if they lost the coin flip Hakeem wasn't a known offensive force coming out of college. The Rockets drafted him #1 because of his shot blocking and rebounding when he got to training camp and they found out he could be a good offensive post player it was an added bonus.
I had Bulls v Lakers and NBA Showdown on Genesis. Strategy was dump ball to Dream in low post and let Brooks, Smith, Maxwell, Horry, and company get open 3s.
The Athletic just did an oral history on that draft. Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn ahead of Curry by the same team...
