Adol

I'm starting to think so. The guy never gets much love on these boards. He seems to go overlooked by most as a second, possibly third tier great who gets lost in the conversation. This is a guy who was a perennial all star. A guy who was averaging over 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals per game over the course of most of his career.

When comparing him to other all time great guards I don't think he's as dangerous a Jordan or Kobe, but I do think he's the most versatile guard of all time. He's only the third player in NBA history, along with Oscar Robertson and John Havlicek, to top 20,000 points, 6,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists.

He never seemed to have a very good team, yet at his peak led the Blazers to the finals twice, losing to the legendary Bad Boy Pistons and Jordans Bulls. It seems like his legacy is diminished by some people because he never won a title as "the man", instead having to play sidekick to Hakeem in Houston, but I don't think it tarnishes it at all.

It seems like the consensus is that he's a top 25-35 player of all time, which I guess seems fair, even though I have him more around the 20 area...But I guess the point of this thread is that it seems he's overlooked. Maybe we can show the glide a little love by posting some favorite moments?

Najee

Minstrel

I think Drexler is a top-25 player of all-time. I don't know how he's viewed by the larger basketball audience, but he was definitely a great all-around player. I don't think he's the most versatile guard ever, though...I'd place Jordan, Magic and Robertson ahead of him in that regard. Of course, those are like three of the top six players ever, so hardly an insult.

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Pioneer10

Never had a good team?
The Blazers had plenty of talent IMO: outside of Drexler - Ainge, Porter, Kersey, Robinson, Buck Williams, Duckworth. Not one great player but they had a very good player at every position and a good bench

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Adol

Ainge was past his prime.
Kersey was ok coming off the bench
Robinson was in the very beginning of his career
Williams was a tough veteran on his last legs
Duckworth sucked.
Porter was an above average pg

They had a decent bench and a good coach.

Jordan23Forever

Drexler was a great (if not all-time level) scorer, a tremendous rebounder from the guard position (only Kidd and Jordan compare to him at the guard spot in the last 15-20 years), and an outstanding passer (not just in the open court, but on screen and rolls, interior passing etc. He was just awesome). Solid defender, too, though not exceptional.

Definitely an underrated player imo. Also one of the finest athletes to eve play the game.

BadBaronRudigor

not much of a dancer though

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Hakeem

One of the reasons why Drexler was great is that he was so adaptable. He was used virtually as a point guard for a while early in his career. Then, when Terry Porter ran the show, he fitted in very well, scoring heavily without having the ball in his hands much. He was also able to play the regular Jordan-type superstar role. Then he went to a new team and became second option and changed his game without his numbers taking a hit at all. And he was the best passing and rebounding shooting guard I've seen.

Very good supporting cast. But center was a major weakness for them. Duckworth was crap. And because he couldn't shoot, Drexler couldn't go to the post as much, where he was normally very effective.

BadBaronRudigor

That's not fair, Duckworth could shoot. He couldn't do much else, not trying to hard to play defense, rebound well, or block many shots, but he could shoot.

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Mateo

Yes, he was a great, great player. I think the Jordan rivalry led to people having bad views of him. but he was fantastic.

PauloCatarino

Drexler was a great player, and i would bet the vast majority of posters will rank him Top-5 All-time in the SG spot. Wich would seem about right.

The Blazers couldn't win a title because, at the time when it's core of players were in their primes or close to them, there was tough competition around. They had 3 great years when they reached the Finals twice and lost in the WCF once.

When i think back on the squad, and eventhough there were indeed quality players on all positions in the court, i still think that they never could adjust to play great playoff halfcourt game. Kersey couldn't consistently hit the jumper; Buck was not assigned be an option on offense. Duckworth could sink the jumper, but he had no traditional back-to-the-basket post game. And the bench sucked big time. So, the team had to rely on Drexler and Porter to do the heavy scoring. Drexler was much more at ease slashing to the basket than shooting mid-range jumpers, so IIRC, he struggled a bit against tight halfcourt defenses. And Porter's shooting was often streaky.

So, IMHO, Drexler had good enough help around him. At least, in the starting 5.

The fact that he didn't win a championship as "The Man" doesn't make me thing lesser of