Clyde Drexler played his first 12 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, staying with the team that drafted him in 1983 through thick and thin before leaving Rip City to chase an NBA title with his college teammate and buddy Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston.
Looking back, Drexler told KGW News that he stayed that long in Portland because he was surrounded by great people who were invested in improving the team season after season in order to build a championship team around him.
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“The key was joy, but you gotta have longevity,” said Drexler. “They had incredible management; Harry Glickman was phenomenal. Bucky Buckwalter, Geoff Petrie, Rick Adelman, all those guys were incredible. But Jack Ramsay was my first coach. Jack was a teacher, and I learned so much from being around Jack Ramsay on how to be a professional.”
Longevity and continuity resulted in success for Clyde’s Blazers
Drexler admitted that Portland drafting him in 1983 when the Houston Rockets passed on him twice gave him a reason to be grateful and loyal to the franchise. But more than that, Clyde liked how the front office continued to build around him until they had the team that could compete for a championship.
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After picking Clyde in 1983, the Blazers added the likes of Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Mark Bryant and Drazen Petrovic via the draft while trading for Kevin Duckworth and Buck Williams.
Among the moves, it was the Williams acquisition that turned Clyde’s Blazers from a perennial playoff team to a genuine contender as they made it to the Western Conference Finals in his first three seasons with the team, including Finals appearances in 1990 and 1992.
“When you’re around good people and they continue to add good pieces year after year, they were building through the draft, and we had a few acquisitions, picked up Buck Williams, but everyone else was from the draft. So we were together for a while, and we had a lot of success. You nurture that talent and you have a chance to thrive because you have longevity, you have continuity, and you have a huge support system because of that,” added Drexler.
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Drexler said Sabonis could have changed their trajectory
But good as Drexler’s Blazers were, they were beaten by the Bad Boys in the 1990 NBA Finals and by Michael Jordan’s rampaging Chicago Bulls in 1992. Drexler eventually left in 1995 as he was traded to the Rockets. A season later, a 31-year-old Arvydas Sabonis finally arrived in Portland. Drexler later said, “Sabas” was the missing piece that could have helped him deliver multiple titles for Rip City.
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“We would have had four, five or six titles. Guaranteed. He was that good. He could pass, shoot three-pointers, had a great post game, and dominated the paint. And he would have been younger. He was very effective in the NBA as an older player who had suffered an ankle injury,” Drexler said per ESPN via Hoops Habit.
Actually, Sabonis was part of the plan to build around Drexler, as it was Glickman and Buckwalter who drafted and tried to bring Arvydas to the NBA during the late 80s. However, the Cold War prevented the legendary Lithuanian center from playing in the U.S. when he was much younger. Portland drafted “Sabas” in 1986. Just imagine if he were there in the 1990 or 1992 NBA Finals.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.