Initially, the trade didn’t exactly look like a winner for Houston. Clyde and Hakeem were teammates once again. Portland sent Drexler and Tracey Murray to the Rockets for veteran big Otis Thorpe, Marcelo Nicola, and a first-round pick. But management wanted to tear things down, and Drexler wanted out.
The Portland Trail Blazers still looked like playoff contenders early in the 1994-95 season, going 25-20 before the All-Star break. Olajuwon and Drexler helped lead the Rockets to the 1995 NBA championship However, Portland’s downward trajectory soon afforded The Glide to fulfill his wish of playing with Olajuwon and redeem their failures as college teammates. Meanwhile, Drexler suddenly found himself as an aging star on a Blazers team gearing up to rebuild. The Dream captured his first championship during an MVP season in 1994 after past failures in 19, thanks in part to a clutch block in Game 6. “We would get together and it would be like, ‘Man, can you imagine if we ever got back together? I’ll bet we could win it all if we did.” –Hakeem Olajuwon (2000), via ESPN Both stars seemed to feel they could reach the pinnacle of the sport together, if given the opportunity.
#1984 HOUSTON ROCKETS ROSTER PROFESSIONAL#
Olajuwon said in 2000 (h/t ESPN) that the former Phi Slama Jama stars constantly talked about reuniting in the professional ranks. Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler dreamed of being teammates in the NBA (L-R) Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, and Clyde Drexler pose during a game at the Toyota Center on Main Houston, Texas | Bob Levey/Getty ImagesĪlthough they found themselves on different Western Conference contenders, Olajuwon and Drexler could only reminisce on past days and the salivating thought of playing on the same NBA squad. While Olajuwon and Drexler ultimately led their respective Rockets and Blazers teams to multiple NBA Finals appearances, both men constantly thought about what might happen if they ever teamed up again. The Cougars came up short again, losing to Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas in the national title game. But their notoriety became a detriment when they shockingly lost to Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State team in one of the most famous finishes in college basketball history.ĭrexler departed for the NBA that summer, but Olajuwon had one more opportunity at an NCAA title.
Houston dominated during the 1982-83 campaign, winning 31 games and capturing the national spotlight. Drexler was a slashing guard who dazzled with aerial acrobatics, while Hakeem immediately showed his tremendous potential as a big man who ran the floor and could finish at the rim or step out and shoot midrange jumpers. The run-and-gun style christened the Cougars as a so-called “dunk fraternity” that went by the name Phi Slama Jama.īoth Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler played important roles on those Cougars teams. Head coach Guy Lewis bought into the hyper-athletic nature of his roster by playing at an up-tempo, high-flying pace unlike anything seen in the collegiate ranks before. The Houston Cougars revolutionized college basketball in the early 1980s.
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