Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), spending a majority of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before finishing with the Houston Rockets. He was a ten-time NBA All-Star and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Drexler won an NBA championship with Houston in 1995, and earned a gold medal on the 1992 United States Olympic team known as "The Dream Team". He was inducted twice into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2004 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team".[2] Drexler is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players and greatest shooting guards of all time.[3][4]
Drexler was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and lived in the South Park area in Houston, Texas.[5] He attended Ross Sterling High School[6] in Houston, where he was a classmate of tennis player Zina Garrison.[7] As a sophomore, he made the varsity baseball team, and tried out for the basketball team but failed to make the cut.[8] 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.[8]
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.[8] Drexler majored in finance and worked at a bank during the summer.[7] 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.[8]