Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler

Lore & Background

Drexler was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and lived in the South Park area in Houston, Texas. He attended Ross Sterling High School in Houston, where he was a classmate of tennis player Zina Garrison. As a sophomore, he made the varsity baseball team, and tried out for the basketball team but failed to make the cut. Drexler played as a 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. 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. Drexler majored in finance and worked at a bank during the summer. 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.

Reader's Guide

Drexler and Young, along with Larry Micheaux and new recruit Hakeem Olajuwon, comprised the "Phi Slama Jama" basketball fraternity. 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 per game as a small forward as Houston finished 25–8. The 1982–83 campaign saw Houston return to the Final Four ranked No. 1. 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 in NC State's upset victory. 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, 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.

Did You Know?

• Drexler was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 14th overall pick in the 1983 NBA draft.
• On January 6, 1989, Drexler scored a career-high 50 points during a double-overtime win over the Sacramento Kings.
• Drexler left as the all-time scoring leader for the Blazers with 18,040 points, which stood as a franchise record until Damian Lillard passed him in 2022.
• On February 14, 1995, the Blazers traded Drexler to the Houston Rockets along with Tracy Murray in exchange for Otis Thorpe, the draft rights of Marcelo Nicola, and a 1995 first-round draft pick.