Former Chicago Bulls shooting guard Craig Hodges told DJ Vlad of Vlad TV shortly after ESPN’s “The Last Dance” docuseries came out in 2020 that NBA icon Michael Jordan thought Clyde Drexler was just as good as him.
However, Jordan didn’t think Drexler knew how to play the game.
“Not every great athlete is marketable,” Hodges said. “I remember having a conversation one time. It was like four of us, MJ included. And the conversations came up about Clyde Drexler. And MJ said this: ‘Clyde Drexler is just as good as me. He just don’t know how to play the game.’ And we ain’t talking about basketball.”
Hodges brought up Jordan’s comments about Drexler while discussing Jordan’s marketability with DJ Vlad. Jordan and Drexler may have had similar talent on the court, but Drexler didn’t know how to use it to his advantage to become a global icon like Jordan.
Jordan and the Bulls faced off against Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals. The series was sold to NBA fans as the battle between Jordan and Drexler, the two top shooting guards in the league.
During the 1991-92 season, Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.9 blocks. He won his third MVP.
Meanwhile, Drexler put up 25.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
Even though Jordan won MVP, Drexler was just as dominant as a scorer and averaged more rebounds and assists.
During “The Last Dance” docuseries, Jordan admitted he was offended when pundits compared Drexler to him. MJ was so angry Drexler was being compared to him that he attacked the Blazers guard the entire 1992 Finals.
“Clyde was a threat,” Jordan said in The Last Dance doc. “I’m not saying he wasn’t a threat. But me being compared to him, I took offense to that. Based on the way I was playing at that time, it wasn’t even close. So I attacked him every night.”
Jordan opened the 1992 Finals by hitting six 3-pointers in the first half and scoring 39 points in Game 1. The Bulls defeated the Blazers in six games to capture their second straight championship.
Jordan averaged 35.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.3 blocks and won Finals MVP for the second consecutive season.
Drexler put up 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game against the Bulls in the 1992 Finals. However, he only shot 40.7% from the field.
Meanwhile, Jordan shot 52.6% overall.
Jordan and Drexler were teammates on the 1992 United States Men’s Olympic basketball team. It must have been awkward for Drexler to play with the guy who had torched him a few months prior.
Jordan was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. He finished his NBA career with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks in 1,072 games with the Bulls and Washington Wizards.
MJ won five MVPs, one DPOY, six championships, six Finals MVPs and 10 scoring titles.
Drexler didn’t win six rings, six Finals MVPs, five regular-season MVPs and 10 scoring titles like Jordan. However, he had a fantastic career and made the Hall of Fame in 2004.
Drexler won his lone championship in 1995 as a member of the Houston Rockets. He finished his NBA career with averages of 20.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.7 blocks in 1,086 games with the Blazers and Rockets.
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Coming from The GOAT himself, how can I disagree with the talent & skillz of Clyde? The dude can take over anytime on offense.
But YET, we never saw him with the great defensive prowess, WILL & DRIVE of MJ. The proof? We never talk about The Glide’s “D” at any point.
So, if it so happens that MJ & Clyde has some similarities, it may start & end at that – the Offense side (although Jordan is still way up there for all the odds he had to go up against with).
The X-Factors MJ said was a certain charisma and ‘MAGNET’ that’s hard to explain, but a phenomena gifted ONLY to a very few, elite individuals & celebrities which gravitates the public at ALL SOCIAL LEVELS.
What I’m adding here (as MJ is genuinely respectful and appreciates the talent of others),
with all due respect to the Awesome Clyde “The Glide” Drexler (who incidentally was the reason the Blazers passed on the MJ draft, as both of them.playes same position and Clyde was already in place and planted therein), the “D” factor completes the equation for me.
MJ was unrelentless and at times unprecedented with his D that’s why it has been stamped in the minds of the NBA world forever.