Clyde Drexler

Drexler was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and lived in the South Park area in Houston, Texas.[4] He attended Ross Sterling High School[5] in Houston, where he was a classmate of tennis player Zina Garrison.[6] As a sophomore, he made the varsity baseball team, and tried out for the basketball team but failed to make the cut.[7] Drexler played as a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) center as a senior. He began receiving attention from college coaches following a 34-point, 27-rebound performance against Sharpstown High School during a 1979 Christmas tournament.[7]

After graduating in 1980, he was recruited by New Mexico State University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Houston, the latter after childhood friend Michael Young told an assistant to head coach Guy Lewis that Drexler was the best player he had faced in high school. Houston was able to recruit them both due to Drexler's friendship with Young and his desire to stay home.[7] Drexler majored in finance and worked at a bank during the summer.[6] Lewis recalled in 2003 that he initially received hate mail from Houston supporters and alumni for recruiting Drexler, as they felt that he was not good enough to play for the school.[7]

Drexler slam dunks as a member of the Houston Cougars men's basketball team

Drexler and Young, along with Larry Micheaux and new recruit Hakeem Olajuwon (known then as Akeem), comprised the "Phi Slama Jama" basketball fraternity that gained national attention for its acrobatic, above-the-rim play. New players were "initiated" into the fraternity by having to stand underneath the basket as Drexler drove in from halfcourt and threw down a tomahawk slam over them.[8] Houston made the first of Drexler's two straight Final Four appearances in 1982, where they lost to eventual champions North Carolina. He averaged 15.2 points and 10.5 rebounds (second in the Southwest Conference) per game as a small forward as Houston finished 25–8.[7][9]

The 1982–83 campaign saw Houston return to the Final Four ranked No. 1. They were matched up against No. 2 Louisville and the "Doctors of Dunk" in the semifinals, which Houston won 94–81 following a brilliant dunking display by both sides, including a double-pump slam by Drexler that Sports Illustrated writer Curry Kirkpatrick called "your basic play of the century".[10] He finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. In the championship game against North Carolina State, Drexler failed to make an impact after picking up four fouls before halftime, and scored only four points on one-of-five shooting and two free throws in NC State's upset victory.[8]

Drexler declared for the NBA draft as a junior, leaving Houston with career averages of 14.4 points, 3.3 assists and 9.9 rebounds in three seasons. In addition to being named the Southwestern Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All American his final season,[11] he remains the only player in school history with combined totals of at least 1,000 career points, 900 rebounds and 300 assists; he is also Houston's all-time steals leader with 268.[12]

• First-team NCAA All-American (1983)
• Southwest Conference Player of the Year (1983)
• 10-time NBA All-Star (1986, 1988–1994, 1996, 1997)
• All-NBA First Team (1992)
• All-NBA Second Team (1988, 1991)
• All-NBA Third Team (1990, 1995)
• Olympic gold medalist (1992)
• NBA championship (1995)
• Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)
• Two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee
• Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Inducted (2001)
• Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021)

Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, as he was nicknamed at the University of Houston and throughout his professional career, was famed for his speed and athleticism on the court and his easygoing and quiet demeanor off the court. At the University of Houston, Drexler became well known for his exceptional abilities as a finisher, but generally was not considered a great shooter. During his pro career Drexler developed a much more well-rounded game, even becoming an effective post player and more consistent outside shooter. His extraordinary leaping abilities allowed him to be an acrobatic dunker and Drexler participated in numerous NBA All-Star dunk contests during the late eighties.

Drexler was regarded as a versatile player, and he was consistently among the leaders at his position in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He also posted a considerable number of blocked shots for a player his size, ranking third for his career totals among guards.

Drexler set a Trail Blazer record in 1989 by dunking on an 11' 1" rim.[16]

As of 2008, Drexler leads all guards with his career average of offensive rebounds with 2.4 per game.

Drexler stayed with the Rockets for three more seasons before retiring from the NBA after the 1997–98 season in order to become head men's basketball coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston.

Drexler coached the Cougars in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons. After compiling a 19–39 record in his two seasons, Drexler decided to resign to spend more time with his family.[17]

One of only five numbers retired by the University of Houston men's basketball team, Drexler's No. 22 hangs in Hofheinz Pavilion.

Drexler's No. 22 jersey has been retired by the Cougars (pictured), Rockets, and Trail Blazers. He was inducted as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 10, 2004, in his first year of eligibility.[18] He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and named to the league's 75th anniversary team in 2021.[19]

In 2004 Drexler co-authored his biography, Clyde the Glide, with Portland Tribune sports writer Kerry Eggers, and University of Houston classmate and CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz providing the foreword.[7]

Drexler poses during NBA Global Games in the Philippines in 2013

Drexler married his wife, Gaynell, on December 30, 1988. They divorced in 2011. He has four children: Erica, Austin, Elise, and Adam (the last three with Gaynell). In 2014 Drexler married his second wife, Tonya, whom he had met through fellow NBA star Dominique Wilkins.[20] Drexler has owned homes in the River Oaks–Memorial neighborhood of Houston and in the Dunthorpe suburb of Portland.[21]

His brother James and his two sisters, Denise and Virginia, run the family barbecue restaurants in Houston called Drexler's World Famous BBQ & Grill, which includes the "22 Bar". His mother, Eunice Scott, also works at the downtown restaurant that was started by his uncle in 1967. There are two locations, downtown Houston and Bush Intercontinental Airport.[21][22] Drexler also started investing in real estate in his rookie NBA season, and although he is now mostly retired, he does do some managing of his Drexler Holdings LLC, based in downtown Houston.[21][23]

Drexler is the subject of the book Clyde Drexler: Clyde the Glide.[24] He also wrote the introduction to the children's book Shrews Can't Hoop.[25]

Drexler made a guest appearance on Married... with Children, a cameo appearance in an episode of Arliss, and was also a guest star in an episode of The Sentinel. In 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the basketball movie Like Mike 2: Streetball. That same year, Drexler participated in the first season of the Spike TV show Pros vs. Joes, which features three amateur contestants matching themselves against five professional athletes. Drexler was a member of the regular season Green Team and the season finale Orange Team.

On February 21, 2007, it was announced that Drexler would participate in the fourth season of the American version of Dancing with the Stars with partner Elena Grinenko.[26] Drexler was the fourth celebrity to be voted off in round five on April 17, 2007.

On April 11, 2010, Drexler appeared as a guest on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice in which he helped the men's team "Rock Solid" complete a task to create video advertisements for Right Guard.

• List of National Basketball Association franchise career scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with 9 or more steals in a game

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clyde Drexler.

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com
• Clyde Drexler at NBA Encyclopedia
• Clyde Drexler at the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Maxey, Wendell. "Clyde Drexler". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
• University of Houston Digital Library photos of Clyde Drexler