I think Drexler's peak period was a lot more subtle than the other players, mainly because he was a very consistent player. A 35-year-old Drexler has almost identical data to a 23-year-old Drexler.
Of course, Tracy McGrady's style of play is noticeably more fluid.
Drexler averaged 27, 8 and 6 points per game in the 88-89 season, which was probably his best season. Still, I think Maddy is better.
In 2002–03, he averaged 32.1 points, 5.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game.
One of the Maddy stats I'd like to point out is his three-point shooting percentage. I disagree with McGrady as a strong finisher, but not the best shooter. Yes, finishing is his main skill, but his three-pointers are also excellent.
At 38.6 percent, he finished fifth in that season's most three-pointers. That's pretty impressive, isn't it?
Well, that's even more impressive considering that he's a ball-holding core type shooter compared to the rest of the league. His league has only 13 three-point shooting rate of more than 40 percent. By comparison, Kyle Lowry shot 38.6 percent from the league.
It's clear that Maddy is better suited to the NBA's five-small lineup today
"Maddy was a loser in the playoffs."
This claim has some credibility, but it is also somewhat false.
During his golden season 2002–03, his Orlando Magic played against the Detroit Pistons. How was the Pistons that year? Very nice, very very nice. It was widely believed that the Pistons would continue to win championships next year.
Maddy has averaged 40+ points per game in his first two games. Who is the second best player on the Magic? Drew Gooden. Druckodden. Have you heard of this man?
I'm sure you can recognize the Pistons' name. Ben Wallace, Tyschoan Springs, Richard Hamilton, Chansi Billups, Cliff Robinson, understand.
He played against the New York Knicks in the first round of the Toronto Raptors' first playoff game. Maddie was beating a Knicks team with Larry Johnson, Marcus Campi, "Madman" Spreel, as well as "Gorilla" Patrick Ewing and Alan Houston.
Sure, Toronto lost three games, but do you know what the point difference was in that series? 4 points
2004-05 Played for the Houston Rockets
Maddy led the Rockets to challenge the Dallas Mavericks (which had Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Jerry Starkhouse and Josh Howard) to the final tie-break. Yes, the Rockets lost by 40 points in game seven, but the gap from game two to game five was 4 points or less.
Maddy doesn't have the corresponding energetic support on the outside, but he is an incredibly individual player. "Glider" Drexler was also excellent at his peak, but I think Maddy is more recognizable.
Maddy was noted to have 7 first-round exits, but Drexler had six first-round exits at age 31. So if you're going to say maddy's a poor player who didn't do well in the playoffs, Drexler isn't far from him.