Twenty-seven years ago today (February 15, 1995), the Houston Rockets traded Otis Thorpe, Marcelo Nicola and a 1995 first-round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers for "Gliders" Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray.
The deal allowed Drexler and his college teammate Olajuwon to join forces that season (1994-1995), the Rockets entered the playoffs as sixth in the West, and then went all the way to the Finals to sweep the Orlando Magic led by O'Neal and Penny Hardaway 4-0 in the Finals, successfully defending the NBA championship. In that year's Finals series, Drexler averaged 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.
Throughout Drexler's 15-year NBA career, he averaged 20.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, was named to the All-Star Team 10 times, was selected to the All-Star Team once, was selected to the Best Team First Team twice, was selected to the Best Team Second Team twice, was selected to the Best Team Three In 1995, won the championship with the Rockets in 1995, was named to the NBA's 50 Top Stars in History in 1996, and was named to the NBA's 75 Top Stars in 2021. Drexler earned the nickname "Glider" for his pleasing gliding on/dunking style.
(River Wave End)
![Lillard won the 72nd 30+5+5 chasing smoothing glider of his Blazers career and ranked first in team history[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)