Most commonly known for his work on the basketball court, Clyde Drexler surprised his fans by hitting the dance floor with this season’s Dancing with the Stars.
Clyde Austin Drexler was born June 22, 1962, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Sterling High School in Houston, Texas, graduating in 1980. He pursued his secondary education at the University of Houston along with Larry Micheaux and Hakeem Olajuwon. The trio helped lead their team to repeat appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in both 1982 and 1983.
Out of college play, Drexler entered the draft where he was picked up by the Portland Trail Blazers. He was a large contributing factor to the team’s spot in the NBA Finals for two separate years, 1990 and 1992.
The year 1992 would prove to be especially successful for Drexler. Honored by a spot on the 1992 original Dream Team, he attended the Olympics in Barcelona where he won a gold member along with teammates Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Christian Laettner, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton, and of course, Michael Jordan. Jordan ended up winning Most Valuable Player, but Drexler finished shortly behind him in the vote.
In 1995, Drexler’s Trail Blazers found themselves out of title contention, and he asked to be traded to the Houston Rockets. The team conceded. Playing again with college friend Olajuwon, the Rockets improved greatly after Drexler joined their ranks. In 1995, the team took the NBA title. He stayed with the Rockets until his retirement in 1997.
Drexler quit the game in order to coach at his former college, the University of Houston. His number 22 jersey was officially retired, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame on September 10, 2004. It was his first year of eligibility. He was even named one of the 50 greatest players of all time.
On February 21, 2007, the official announcement was released that Drexler would be one of the contestants on the fourth season of the highly popular television series Dancing with the Stars. His celebrity co-stars include Laila Ali, Billy Ray Cyrus, Joey Fatone, Leeza Gibbons, Heather Mills (Paul McCartney’s former wife), Apolo Anton Ohno, Shandi Finnessey, Paulina Porizkova, John Ratzenberger, and Ian Ziering.
Besides his work within reality television, Drexler is also the commentator for the Houston Rocket’s home games.
He is currently filming the documentary Four Square Miles to Glory due out February 2008. Others slated to be in the film include Ray Allen and Nigel Miguel. He had a bit part in Like Mike 2: Streetball in 2006 as the KOTC announcer.
In his personal life, Drexler married Gaynell Floyd on December 30, 1988. They have three children and are still together.
YUDDY
