Adol

This has been on my mind for a while now and I want to hear what everyone thinks.
A while back I made a thread asking who was the better player, Pippen or Drexler. It was close, like 50/50 close, with perhaps a slight edge given to Pippen. From my understanding Pippen is widely considered a top 25 player of all time. In a thread a while back I said that Clyde should be on any top 25 list a few people scoffed at me...Am I wrong to think this? What does everyone think of Drexler? Is he a top 25 of all time talent? Top 30? Is he interchangable with Pippen? Thanks in advance!

Hakeem

I don't know exactly where Drexler should rank on all time lists, but I think he was very slightly better than Pippen (and T-Mac and Kobe).

Although obviously not as good a defender as Pippen, he was a considerably better scorer, and I think that's more valuable for a perimeter player (even though Pippen was an amazing team defender). Drexler was a pretty good defender, too, even though Jordan did torch him in the Finals. Pippen helped out in guarding Drexler quite a bit in the Finals, actually, so I guess Jordan did have some respite on the defensive end, while Drexler had to guard the greatest perimeter scorer of all time and score 25 ppg. A little off topic, but Drexler did enjoy some success against the Bulls, which is probably partly why the Jordan vs Drexler comparisons came about. In 1988, they had a much talked-about shootout, with Drexler finishing with 42 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 8 steals and 0 turnovers, and Jordan posting 52 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 6 turnovers. And in both of their regular season games in '92, they put up similar numbers, with Drexler having the edge. Some people said that Drexler was more of a team player and a better playmaker, and they were right. What they were wrong about was that that made him a better player than Jordan. It didn't.

As for Drexler vs T-Mac and Kobe -- it's again very close. They are comparable defenders and rebounders, with Drexler being perhaps slightly worse on defense and slightly better on the boards. T-Mac and Kobe score more, while Drexler was more ready to pass up scoring opportunities. But his teams generally had quite a few scorers. What separates Drexler from these two, IMO, is his passing. He's the best passing shooting guard I've seen. An unselfish superstar who can score but is also a terrific passer is a great thing to have.

While we're talking about Drexler, I might as well add that in '86 he fell one rebound short of a quadruple-double. He had 26 points, 11 assists, 10 steals and 9 rebounds. He also had 10 steals one other time in his career. And he once scored 13 points in overtime in the playoffs.

GTA Addict

Clyde is so underrated, even by me! Definitely on the all-underrated team. Because he was at his best when MJ was at his best, and we all know who got more attention....

But I don't think the numbers lie in his comparisons to MJ. He was a better rebounder and playmaker. He was more efficient scoring wise than Pippen and Tmac, and nearly as efficient as Kobe. Defensively, I can't really judge since I didn't see much of him in his prime, but I'll trust Hakeem's opinion on that. So, overall I think Drexler is slightly ahead of Kobe and Tmac right now.

As for Pippen vs. Clyde it's even closer IMO. Offensively, Pip has a higher eFG%, but Clyde shot much, much better from the line and filled a larger role in scoring. Rebounding about the same given their positions. Playmaking about the same. Defensively, however, Pip is on another planet. This is actually so close that I'd feel bad for the other if I picked one, so I'll ease my way out of this one and leave it to you all. Interesting comparison though

kflo

kobe and tmac have a DECISIVE scoring advantage in the half court. kobe at least has a decisive defensive advantage as well.

drexler pippen is a close call. i'll probably go with pippen overall because again, drexler's primary advantage, his scoring, was less of an advantage when the game slowed down. although it's extremely close - drexler was a great player.

neoxsupreme

I don't think Pippen is a top 25 all-time player at all. Pippen is slightly better than Glide but this is a bad comparison b/c they're different players. Their both very good players don't get me wrong but there are easily 25 or more other players greater than either of them in history.

Adol

So where do people rank Drexler on the all time list?

hp93

I'll tell you one thing, Drexler is better than Pippen no doubt. Also Pippen is not in the top 25 of best players of all time. IMO. Drexler might not be either but he would be a little bit closer than Pippen don't you think? Pippen isn't HOF material in my mind either. The main reason he got publicity was because he was with Air Jordan, who I think is in my top 5 NBA players of all time no doubt.

kflo

he did finish 3rd in mvp voting his one full prime year without jordan.

JayRedd

Don't have a precise list that I'm referring to, but I'll bet I have him between 35-40 all time.

Better guards off the top of my head:

MJ
Magic
Oscar
West
Stockton
Cousy
Kobe
Isiah
Rick Barry
AI
Dr J
Kidd

throw in 10 centers and 15 forward and that puts Clyde around 35-40

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Hakeem

Didn't Drexler average over 26 ppg on 54% from the field in the Finals against the Pistons? They were a slow-paced team, and one of the greatest defensive sides of all time. They used to give Jordan and Pippen plenty of trouble. Drexler only averaged 23 ppg in the regular season that year.

Adol