1992 Dream Team and Clyde

by newbergfan on Oct 23, 2009 11:48 AM PDT

I was just listening to ESPN and there is a current fight between Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas about Thomas being on the dream team. I remember that there were 10 guys chosen and just before the Tournament of Americas Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner were chosen as the final two to make the team 12. From listening to Magic's side of this the only reason that Clyde was there is that the team didn't want Thomas. One of the highlights of my life was watching Clyde play at the Tournament of Americas here in Portland. Clyde Drexler never won a ring as a Blazer he had to do that with another team, so for me the Gold was my way of seeing my Blazers win something. I was born in 81' and don't have any other time where my team got to win it all. Thank you Magic Johnson, not only did you rob me of a Championship with that toss behind your head you have to steal my childhood memories. And most of all, your fight with Thomas is really a shot at Clyde and he is better then that!

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Clyde obviously earned it.

Laettner… not so much.

"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."

by Arby on Oct 23, 2009 11:52 AM PDT reply actions

Clyde was on the team....

Cause the europeans would just spend the whole game staring at his marvelous moustache!

by tmundal on Oct 23, 2009 12:19 PM PDT reply actions

I was on the east coast at the time

I could’ve cared less about the Blazers, although I always saw them as a class NBA franchise. So I didn’t have a vested interest but it seemed like a no brainer. Break it down by position and Zeke would have been extraneous. They had the right two guys at point guard and Clyde was the obvious guy after Michael. I’m not sure how switching those two would have worked on the team. Magic is just going off like he is apt to do. Magic has fantastic b.b. i.q. but it ends there.

by jiminut on Oct 23, 2009 12:22 PM PDT reply actions

Of course it wouldn't have mattered

The talent gap was so ridiculously huge between the US and anyone else that what, they would have won by 60 a game instead of 30-40 if Isiah had been on the team.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Oct 23, 2009 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Break it down by position and Zeke would have been extraneous

I don’t know about that. When Stockton got hurt the team didn’t have a backup PG. Of course, any team with MJ and Pippen had enough ballhandling and perimeter defense to beat the
Euros, back in ’92

I remember Laettner catching flack at the ’92 draft in the Memorial Coliseum when he was selected. If there was any “extraneous” member of the Dream Team, it was Christian

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Oct 23, 2009 4:08 PM PDT up reply actions

The only person I dislike hearing do color on tv more than Walton is....

Magic. Go run your movie theaters or whatever…and stay away from a microphone. Jordan is a jerk…. but at least I don’t ever have to hear him.

by tmundal on Oct 23, 2009 12:42 PM PDT reply actions

Bah

Who cares? Do you see Clyde accouncing with the Blazers or living in Portland? I was born in 81 as well— Clyde was the man to me back in the day. Now that I am older and watch tapes, Clyde could have won here if he was more commited to defense and sharpening his skills.

To sum it up, I’m over The Glide. He coulda won us something at least once and he aint here no more

Land Rondo.

by loyal_blazer on Oct 23, 2009 12:54 PM PDT reply actions

Clyde could have won here if he was more commited to defense and sharpening his skills.

Drexler also got Mike Schuler fired and Adelman hired, because he knew Rick wouldn’t make him practice hard. Brandon Roy will eventually replace #22 as the #1 Blazer of all time

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Oct 23, 2009 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions

I really don't think that'll be hard to do

Although I still like Walton and Lucas.

Roy has already beaten out Glyde in my book.

"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.

But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html

"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez

by ratbastird on Oct 27, 2009 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Blasphemy-

is a display of gross irreverence. If you want to accuse him of not being as good as Jordan and Magic I’d accept your assertion but to say that Clyde somehow dogged it because he was lazy then you must be playing your tapes backwards or need to clean the heads on your VCR.

by Jacksonville on Oct 23, 2009 8:49 PM PDT up reply actions

not so sure

that you are aware of clyde’s notorious ability to not give a rip about practicing. If he did, we would have contested for the championship more than a few times and would have gotten at least one of them.

Practice is the key to everything. Clyde was born with talent, not the will to win. The winning came at the expense of players who did practice.

I love Clyde, but he honestly did not want to get better or he would have put in the work that MJ did put in.

In my eyes, they were both equally talented, but MJ surpassed Clyde by putting in work and practice.

Clyde did not.

Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. -the shawshank redemption.

by pdxborn on Oct 23, 2009 10:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Not so sure...

…that you’re aware of Bill Russell’s documented (I believe there’s a choice anecdote in David Halberstam’s “The Breaks Of The Game”) rather than rumored ability to not give a rip about practice, while he was in the middle of the Celtics’ run of titles. I don’t think work alone is the key to MJ’s success; I have no doubt that many of their contemporaries (Karl Malone for instance, though maybe not Barkley) put in every bit as much effort into improving their games. Jordan, as we have recently been reminded at the Hall of Fame induction, has an almost psychotic need to compete. That may have brought him glory now (that will only fade with time), but I’m willing to bet (oops! wrong word to use re: MJ) that made him an often miserable person to deal with. I have few doubts that Clyde’s teammates were on rather better terms with him (I’ll cite Cameron Stauth’s “The Golden Boys” as proof: Stauth writes that the ‘92 Blazers squad was thrilled with Clyde’s Olympic selection). Stauth also does a thorough job of explaining how Clyde saw his role differing from that of a Jordan or Magic: he wasn’t going to berate teammates, and he desperately wanted to prove that a well-rounded and more unselfish team could win the title. That this team did not win a title matters not a whit to me (when I consider what’s truly important in my life); if they “failed,” the effort was noble, and I found the journey thrilling in whatever case.

Finally, Clyde Drexler was not “born with talent” (beyond having the good fortune to grow to 6’7"). As even casual fans of his might know, he was a pudgy kid who worked his tail off just to make his high school team, let alone the University of Houston and then the NBA. Nobody maintains that quality of play and stays in that kind of shape by dogging it.

by Modal Rounder on Oct 24, 2009 2:06 AM PDT up reply actions

It is my firm belief that Clyde should have been on that team. I was shocked when he wasn’t chosen as one of the first ten.

Bring back Franz Bread Cards!

by newbergfan on Oct 23, 2009 10:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Agreed.

But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html

"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez

by ratbastird on Oct 27, 2009 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Geez-lighten up...

“He could won us something…”? “Do you see Clyde accouncing with the Blazers or living in Portland?”? “Rick wouldn’t make him practice hard”? (That’s two4larue, but the sentiments are similar).

That’s all fairly standard anti-Clyde stuff one usually saw from the likes of Peter Vecsey (I feel dirty just typing the name) or Walton (you’re forgiven Bill; now can you work on limiting the hyperbole?). I’m far more inclined to believe that those Blazer teams were usually one key part short (that part’s last name is “Sabonis”); a green Clifford Robinson wasn’t going to offset the Pistons’ (or the Bulls’ or L.A.‘s) firepower off the bench, for one thing. I’ve always found it curious that it didn’t seem to be teammates or staff making the accusation Clyde wasn’t working hard enough, but rather usually some far-off columnist (I don’t recall having read anything similar in those pieces by Jaynes or Kerry Eggers, Terry Frei or Cameron Stauth, and I’m quite sure they wouldn’t have hesitated to let their readers know if that was what they thought of Drexler’s game).

As far as Clyde living in Houston and working for the Rockets, who cares? How bloody provincial can you get? He retired to his hometown-get over it. I know I’m not alone in this-I was thrilled to see him get a ring with the Rockets (just as I was thrilled to see Jerome win with the Spurs). If he’d won a title in L.A. or Boston and spent the past fifteen years extolling the glories of those franchises as if he’d never played a game in Portland, then you might have a point. And how do we know that Clyde hasn’t wanted to work with the Blazers?

And spare a tear for poor Mike Schuler! Yes, after that horrible insurrection in Portland he of course went on to establish a coaching legacy beyond compare (what’s Mike up to these days, anyway?). If Adelman didn’t make Clyde practice hard, more power to them both; those teams remain the most consistently excellent (and thrilling to watch) in franchise history. I fully expect both of you to express similar remarks in ten or fifteen years should you find something to nitpick about regarding the Portland tenures of Oden, Aldridge, or even (gasp!) Brandon Roy himself.

by Modal Rounder on Oct 23, 2009 9:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Laettner was the token college guy

On the team. Since it was the first year they had NBA players, that was the deal.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Oct 23, 2009 1:35 PM PDT reply actions

Remember that they took Laettner over Shaq

While I dislike Shaq, Wow! the best team ever gets just a little more cachet and swagger with him on board!

by FlyinSouth on Oct 23, 2009 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Clyde was unreal in 92

he finished 2nd in mvp voting and lead the blazers to the finals. who else was going to be selected ahead of him? he 100% deserved to be on the one and only dream team.
remember that finger roll over hakeem in the 94 playoffs? Drexler was awesome!

by hugetrailblazerfan on Oct 24, 2009 3:16 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs