With Jon Teitel, talking Clyde Drexler on his 58th birthday…
The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Kerry Eggers, the co-author of “Clyde the Glide: My Life in Basketball”, about Clyde winning a gold medal in 1992. Today is Clyde’s 58th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
Jon Teitel
Jon Teitel (JT): As a college player at Houston Clyde made back-to-back Final 4s in 1982/1983: how big of a cultural phenomenon was “Phi Slamma Jamma”?
Kerry Eggers (KE) We had never seen anything like it in terms of their athleticism. Akeem (now Hakeem) Olajuwon was as good as any center that we have ever seen (although he was still developing) and Clyde definitely earned his “Clyde the Glide” nickname.
JT: The Cougars entered the 1983 NCAA title game on a 26-game winning streak but a buzzer-beater by Lorenzo Charles gave NC State a 2-PT upset: where does his performance rank among the most devastating of his career (he picked up 4 fouls before halftime and scored only 4 PTS/1-5 FG)?
KE: I did not cover him until 1989 but I know that he was disappointed with the loss.
JT: In the summer of 1983 he was drafted 14th overall by Portland (1 spot behind Ennis Whatley): was he thrilled to get drafted in the 1st round, or unhappy that he dropped so low, or other?
KE: I think that he was disappointed. He made it a challenge because he thought he was better than the 13 guys picked ahead of him but he was happy to go to Portland.
JT: On January 6, 1989 he scored a career-high 50 PTS/19-28 FG in 49 minutes during a 5-PT 2-OT win over Sacramento: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”?
KE: He had so many incredible games but Sacramento was not a good team back then.
JT: In Game 5 of the 1990 NBA Finals Detroit’s Vinnie Johnson made the title-winning jump shot with 0.7 seconds left in a 2-PT road win, and in Game 6 of the 1992 NBA Finals Chicago overcame a 15-PT 4th quarter deficit to win its 2nd straight title: while it was obvious that he was good enough to lead his team to the Finals, was he worried that he would never actually win a title?
KE: He is the reason that they got there and remains the best player in Portland history. They were simply not the best team in either of those series. The “Bad Boys” were a very tough team and deserved to win, although there were no blowouts during the series. In 1992 they were facing 1 of the best players of all-time in Michael Jordan. Clyde thought that he was the best player in the league and was absolutely disappointed to not win it. The 1991 team made the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Lakers: THAT was actually the team that should have won it all.
JT: He won a gold medal with the “Dream Team” at the 1992 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal?
KE: In 1991 the USOC chose 10 NBA players and decided to add 1 pro and 1 collegian the following year. Clyde was not 1 of the original 10 and had a fantastic season: he played so well that they could not keep him from becoming the 11th pro. It was certainly deserved: Jordan was the 1992 MVP but Clyde was runner-up and had a tremendous All-Star Game as well. He had a great time on the Dream Team but was not 1 of the star players. At night he would have beers with Larry Bird and in the morning he would play golf with Patrick Ewing/Charles Barkley. They knew that they would win the gold: it was a done deal.
JT: Take me through the magical 1995 NBA playoffs with Houston after Portland honored his request to be traded to a contender that February: In Game 4 of the Western Conference 1st round he and Olajuwon became the 3rd set of teammates to each score 40+ PTS in a playoff game in a win over Utah: do you think the fact that they were college teammates allowed them to play so well together in the same city more than a decade later?
KE: It may have played a small part that they had some chemistry.
JT: Despite being the #6 seed in the West they swept Orlando in the Finals thanks to some poor FT shooting by Nick Anderson and some great clutch shooting by Robert Horry: what did it mean to him to finally win a ring after coming so close so many times in both college and the pros?
KE: It meant everything to Clyde because he wanted to prove that he could win a title.
JT: In 1996 he was named 1 of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history: where does that rank among the highlights of his career?
KE: I do not know where it ranks but is certainly meaningful to him. It was quite a scene when they all gathered together at the All-Star Game that year.
JT: Despite declaring for the NBA draft after his junior year his 268 career STL remain the most in school history, in the 1996 NBA season opener he tied a record with 8 STL in the 2nd half of a win over Sacramento, and his 2207 career STL remain top-10 in NBA history: do you think that he gets enough credit for his defense?
KE: I talked about that with him. He always took pride in his defense and was so quick that he could anticipate where the ball was going. Many people think that Damian Lillard is the greatest Blazer ever: he might get there some day but Clyde is still the best in my opinion.
JT: He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in both 2004 for his individual career and 2010 as a member of the Dream Team and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006: when people look back at his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most?
KE: I think that he should be remembered as a graceful superstar and a very nice person who was kind to fans. He could not walk 1 block in Portland without a fan coming up to him and he was always gracious. He is the greatest player that I ever covered.
Jon’s original story is here.
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