Clyde Austin Drexler was born on 22 June 1962 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player, known for being one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and is currently a sports commentator for the Houston Rockets.
So how rich is Drexler? The former NBA star has an estimated net worth of $25 million majority of which he earned on the course of his basketball career. His wealth is still growing thanks to his broadcasting career and various TV appearances.
Clyde Drexler Net Worth $25 Million
Drexler was born to a family of seven children. Although he was born in Louisiana, his family moved to Houston, Texas where he attended Ross Sterling High School. He played ball in his senior year after not making it into the tryouts during his sophomore year. Upon graduating high school, he was recruited to play for the University of Houston where he majored in finance. During his two years in Houston, Drexler and his team, the Cougars, made it into the Final Four twice, with him scoring an average of 14.4 points, 3.3 assists and 9.9 rebounds per game. He was awarded the Southwestern Conference Player of the Year and became a part of the first-team All American. Nicknamed “The Glide”, he became one of the all-time greats in his school with a record-breaking total of 1,000 career points, 900 rebounds and 300 assists.
He left Houston in his junior year to join the NBA draft in 1983 and became the fourteenth overall pick for the Portland Trail Blazers. His breakout came in his second season and he became part of the All-Star team in his third season for the first time, a feat which he would later garner nine more times. Drexler and his team made it into the Finals in the 1989-1990 season but lost to the Detroit Pistons. Drexler once again led the Trail Blazers to a spot in the finals with 63 wins and 19 losses but was defeated by the favored Los Angeles Lakers. The next season, Drexler was part of the All-NBA First Team and placed second, losing to Michael Jordan, in Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting. The Blazers played against the Chicago Bulls, led by Jordan, in the Finals with the Bulls claiming victory for their second consecutive year.
In 1992, Drexler joined the US national basketball team, known as “The Dream Team” to compete at the Olympics Games in Barcelona, in which the team brought home the gold. In 1995, his wish to be traded to the Houston Rockets was granted, during which the Rockets won their second consecutive NBA title, with Drexler securing the championship by scoring the final shots. The same year, he became the 24th player to make a total of 20,000 points and was later named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1997. In the succeeding seasons, his performance was hampered by a couple of injuries and at the end of the 1997-1998 season, Drexler officially retired from playing. He left his NBA career with 20,000 points, 6,000 rebounds, and 3,000 assists, being one of only three players to do so.
Upon retirement, he took over as the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston from 1998-2000. His jersey number 22 has been retired by the three teams he played under- the Cougars, Rockets, and the Trail Blazers. In 2004, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Apart from his basketball career, Drexler co-wrote his biography “Clyde the Glide” together with Kerry Eggers from the Portland Tribune. He also launched the Drexler Foundation, which aims to boost literacy in Houston. The 53-year old has also appeared in TV shows such as “Married…with Children”, “Arliss”, “Pros vs. Joes”, and “Celebrity Apprentice” as well as a cameo in the movie “Like Mike 2: Streetball”. In 2007, he joined the dancing competition “Dancing with the Stars” (US). He currently serves as a color commentator for the Houston Rockets home games since 2008. His net worth is still growing.
Drexler married Gaynell Floyd in 1988 but divorced in 2011. He then married Tonya in 2014. He has a daughter named Erica from a previous relationship and three children- Austin, Elise, and Adam with Gaynell.
