Damian Lillard is better than Clyde Drexler

[Lebron23]

Just the better scorer, and better franchise player. Put Lillard with the 1990's Blazers, and they might win an NBA Championship.

Drexler was 0-2 in the NBA Finals before he teamed up with Hakeem.

[3ba11]

Terry Porter played better in the playoffs than Lillard ever did to carry the Blazers to the 92' Finals.

So those Blazers already had a Lillard-level player in Porter, while also having Drexler... And they also had perennial all-defender Buck Williams or all-star Duckworth or 20 ppg scorer Kersey (dunk contest wing player)... And HOF Petrovic off the bench along with all-star Ainge or all-defender Cliff Robinson (6'10" athletic shooter).

So no

[SaltyMeatballs]

I agree. He would also be the best PG of the 90s. Like by far.

[Axe]

Dude is hopeless, preferring to just rot in portland lmao.

[3ba11]

WCF

1992 Porter....... 26/4/8 on 55%... 53% threes (6 att)
2019 Lillard....... 22/5/8 on 37%... 37% threes (9 att)




I agree. He would also be the best PG of the 90s. Like by far.


You guys never played so you can't imagine what it's like to face:

- wide open spacing vs no spacing

- an open paint vs packed paint

- hands-off defense vs hand-checking, bumping and forearming

- league-mandated no defense (no impeding) vs anything goes


everyone agrees that MJ would average 45-50 today - further proof of a fake debate

[warriorfan]

terry porter was a beast

[ImKobe]

Most Blazers fans (who aren't 12 years old) still go with Clyde because of that 3-year run where they won 57-63 games and made 2x Finals & WCF. Bill Walton has a case too as he got them their only championship. Dame's definitely the most fun to watch though.

[John8204]

Both are behind Bill Walton who has an MVP, MVP runner up and a ring. I'm not ready to call Dame better than Clyde until he hits 25K points. But I've never been a huge fan of Clyde

[ArbitraryWater]

since 2020 for sure, yes.

[SATAN]

Most Blazers fans (who aren't 12 years old) still go with Clyde because of that 3-year run where they won 57-63 games and made 2x Finals & WCF. Bill Walton has a case too as he got them their only championship. Dame's definitely the most fun to watch though.

It's almost like they've had different levels of help and competition.

[ImKobe]

It's almost like they've had different levels of help and competition.

Dame ain't won a single game past the 2nd round, even though he played against an injured GS squad in 2019. Heck, CJ McCollum bailed the Blazers out in that Game 7 vs. Denver to even get them there (Dame was 3/17 for 13 pts while CJ had 37) in the 1st place and IIRC blew three 2nd half double-digit leads in their only WCF appearance and Dame played poorly in 3 out of 4 games. Warriors didn't have KD + Iggy was injured as well and it was still a sweep with Curry outplaying him by a margin we rarely see in a match-up like that (Steph put up 37/8/7 on 66%TS while Dame got shut down).

[Xiao Yao You]

Drexler was a better all around player by far

[Kblaze8855]

Dame ain't won a single game past the 2nd round


He would if he just decided to go do it. But he’s gonna get clowned for 50 years for not doing what fans pretend they don’t want players to do.

[L.Kizzle]

He's a better shooter. Clyde is better st everything else, (even playmaking.)

[L.Kizzle]

He would if he just decided to go do it. But he’s gonna get clowned for 50 years for not doing what fans pretend they don’t want players to do.

It depends on how he does it. No one would care of he went to Indiana. However, if he joined Phoenix all hell would break loose.

[1987_Lakers]

He's a better shooter. Clyde is better st everything else,

Not true, add ball-handling as well.

[L.Kizzle]

Not true, add ball-handling as well.
Well, everybody a better ball handler than Clyde lol

[L.Kizzle]

Not true, add ball-handling as well.
Even dribbling with his head down, he never got his pocket picked a whole lot. Why yall can't steal from a man who looking at the ground lol.

[ImKobe]

He would if he just decided to go do it. But he’s gonna get clowned for 50 years for not doing what fans pretend they don’t want players to do.

Nah it's just the limitations in his own game. GS obviously played great defense on him but his own shot selection & play style is not fit to win consistently in the POs. It's not like they just got stomped and had no chance in that series, they failed to win at home with double-digit leads against an injured GS squad that lacked the depth they had pre-KD. And if we're talking about the best players in the franchise's history or all-time in general then winning has to weigh in on that, whether it's fair to the players themselves or not. Defense & playmaking are a huge part of the game and I'd give Clyde an edge (especially on D) in both categories.

[1987_Lakers]

Lillard isn't much of a defender, but it feels weird to add "especially on D" when picking Drexler over Lillard considering Drexler's defense was nothing to brag about either.

[L.Kizzle]

Lillard isn't much of a defender, but it feels weird to add "especially on D" when picking Drexler over Lillard considering Drexler's defense was nothing to brag about either.

Clyde wasn't a bad defender, he was probably middle of the pack closer to the top than the bottom.

[Phoenix]

He's a better shooter. Clyde is better st everything else, (even playmaking.)

As someone else said, ballhandling too but that's not really how these things are determined as far as the better player. One could argue Scottie Pippen was better at more aspects of basketball than Magic, especially when you include defense, but nobody would say he's a better player than him in general.

I think for the era, Damian may be a bit better than Clyde was in his, but they both have the misfortune of being overshadowed by superior versions of themselves( MJ and Steph).

[ImKobe]

Lillard isn't much of a defender, but it feels weird to add "especially on D" when picking Drexler over Lillard considering Drexler's defense was nothing to brag about either.

The On/Off RAPM data that we have of past-prime Clyde says he was a strong net-positive on D when on the court and of course his traditional stats & BPM numbers were all great due to the stls & blks numbers and with him being a good rebounder. Obviously the line-ups play a huge part in using this data but Clyde never had a reputation of being a poor defensive player. He wasn't elite but that's still a massive upgrade over what a small guard like Lillard can do on the court. Dame was a huge negative (like IT in Boston type negative almost) on D in both the RS & Playoffs when he had his best winning season in Portland in '19. You could say that's not all on him but we know he's a traffic cone on D.

And here's KB speaking on Clyde's defense


“I always admired Clyde. I always looked at how he defended. He understood how to use his hands and block the vision of the player with one hand while using the other as a threat to steal the ball, or shield it.

He also had great balance and used that to his advantage. The way I defend, in fact, can be attributed to Clyde. (And MJ, of course).”

[1987_Lakers]

The On/Off RAPM data that we have of past-prime Clyde says he was a strong net-positive on D when on the court and of course his traditional stats & BPM numbers were all great due to the stls & blks numbers and with him being a good rebounder. Obviously the line-ups play a huge part in using this data but Clyde never had a reputation of being a poor defensive player. He wasn't elite but that's still a massive upgrade over what a small guard like Lillard can do on the court. Dame was a huge negative (like IT in Boston type negative almost) on D in both the RS & Playoffs when he had his best winning season in Portland in '19. You could say that's not all on him but we know he's a traffic cone on D.

And here's KB speaking on Clyde's defense

I always thought using advanced stats to judge defense was silly. Defensive Box/Plus Minus has Jokic as the best defender in the NBA in the last two years.

[GrayGoat]

Op would be correct if he was 5’10 but sadly he is not.

[L.Kizzle]

The On/Off RAPM data that we have of past-prime Clyde says he was a strong net-positive on D when on the court and of course his traditional stats & BPM numbers were all great due to the stls & blks numbers and with him being a good rebounder. Obviously the line-ups play a huge part in using this data but Clyde never had a reputation of being a poor defensive player. He wasn't elite but that's still a massive upgrade over what a small guard like Lillard can do on the court. Dame was a huge negative (like IT in Boston type negative almost) on D in both the RS & Playoffs when he had his best winning season in Portland in '19. You could say that's not all on him but we know he's a traffic cone on D.

And here's KB speaking on Clyde's defense
Clyde even got some All Defense votes a few times. The best big guard defenders were obviously MJ, Sidney and Alvin Robertson and Cooper. But he was better than Miller and guys like that.

[ImKobe]

I always thought using advanced stats to judge defense was silly. Defensive Box/Plus Minus has Jokic as the best defender in the NBA in the last two years.

RAPM/RAPTOR numbers can be decent though there's still some outliers every season. I wouldn't really take that stat seriously because Jokic is not a good defender at all, but his back-ups are even worse and he's a good rebounder so his numbers end up looking decent.

[jayfan]

I'll take Clyde in the playoffs.

You can have Lillard, Harden, PG and the other regular season superstars.

.

[L.Kizzle]

I'll take Clyde in the playoffs.

You can have Lillard, Harden, PG and the other regular season superstars.

.

Playoff P, coming soon ...

[jayfan]

He would if he just decided to go do it. But he’s gonna get clowned for 50 years for not doing what fans pretend they don’t want players to do.

He should have done it without leaving Portland.

[RRR3]

The On/Off RAPM data that we have of past-prime Clyde says he was a strong net-positive on D when on the court and of course his traditional stats & BPM numbers were all great due to the stls & blks numbers and with him being a good rebounder. Obviously the line-ups play a huge part in using this data but Clyde never had a reputation of being a poor defensive player. He wasn't elite but that's still a massive upgrade over what a small guard like Lillard can do on the court. Dame was a huge negative (like IT in Boston type negative almost) on D in both the RS & Playoffs when he had his best winning season in Portland in '19. You could say that's not all on him but we know he's a traffic cone on D.

And here's KB speaking on Clyde's defense
RAPM reeks. Use EPM (not available before 2013-14 sadly)

[999Guy]

Clyde was actually what people think Pippen was.

Athletically dominant two-way monster.

Creation ability lacking as a #1 in the playoffs but Lillard has been a terrible, one of the all-time worst playoff players ever.

Old Clyde in 95 was better than Lillard has ever been for a title contending team.

[bullettooth]

Just the better scorer, and better franchise player. Put Lillard with the 1990's Blazers, and they might win an NBA Championship.

Drexler was 0-2 in the NBA Finals before he teamed up with Hakeem.

We all know this moron's angle here.

[Jasper]

Just the better scorer, and better franchise player. Put Lillard with the 1990's Blazers, and they might win an NBA Championship.

Drexler was 0-2 in the NBA Finals before he teamed up with Hakeem.

u answered your own question - Drex is HOF and finals chip winner , and top 50 all-time.
Lillard hasn't won a fvck'n thing.

[bizil]

Scoring wise, I'll take Dame. BUT Clyde was still an alpha dog level scorer. And has the edge passing, rebounding, and defense wise. Plus Clyde could run the SG, PG, and SF. When you have such a great and complete player at 6'7, it's HARD for a great 6'3 PG like Dame to be the better player. People gotta remember that at one point in time Clyde was arguably the 3rd GOAT SG. And peak-prime wise a top 2-3 SG ever at one point too. But Dame is one of the RARE players in his size range I could see a case for over Drexler peak prime wise. But I'll take Clyde peak-prime wise and GOAT wise.

[kawhileonard2]

Drexler was a better all around player by far

This!

Drexler led a team to the finals multiple times over Magic, Hakeem, DRob, Malone.

[hateraid]

This!

Drexler led a team to the finals multiple times over Magic, Hakeem, DRob, Malone.

Drexler also had an EXTREMELY deep team

Porter
Drexler
Kersey
Buck
Duckworth

With a bench of Cliff Robinson, Bryant, Strickland...was stacked.

Hard to compare but I'd give the edge to Dame.

[L.Kizzle]

Drexler also had an EXTREMELY deep team

Porter
Drexler
Kersey
Buck
Duckworth

With a bench of Cliff Robinson, Bryant, Strickland...was stacked.

Hard to compare but I'd give the edge to Dame.
Stacked. Buck was the best nut he was well past his prime when he joined Portland.
Terry was very underrated. Kersey was nice. Clifford was cool off the bench.

[CountDracula]

https://i.ibb.co/4YcXRrN/C9925-D02-3121-4418-8-F86-2676-A3-B8059-F.jpg (https://ibb.co/cCPZhnT)

https://i.ibb.co/ZBhnvnP/83-D1465-E-40-EE-4553-9-D56-D54-E0-F060894.jpg (https://ibb.co/Cbnk4kZ)

https://i.ibb.co/pXXjBnP/9-FF8-B869-C3-A1-4-F6-E-B190-7-A37-FEE635-D6.jpg (https://ibb.co/Svvw4Jx)

https://i.ibb.co/1XrG4Jm/B3173658-FDB5-44-B0-BE55-BD02-EC41-E60-A.jpg (https://ibb.co/z2XVtH4)

[RogueBorg]

I always thought using advanced stats to judge defense was silly. Defensive Box/Plus Minus has Jokic as the best defender in the NBA in the last two years.

There's no universally accepted way to measure defense.

[bizil]

Gotta go with Drexler on this one. Dame is a more SKILLED SCORER. But scoring in general wise, they are around the same level. U could go either way on that one.

But from there, Clyde has the edge passing wise, defense wise, and rebounding wise. If you are gonna be a 6'3 and under guard that's BETTER than Drexler peak-prime wise, it's gotta be guys like Steph and Isiah. Dame is a bit (not much) behind those guys peak-prime wise. Because Steph is the GOAT shooter and Zeke is one of the RARE pass first floor generals who can DOMINATE games scoring!

People seem to FORGET that Glide was a top 3 SG EVER peak-prime wise and GOAT wise at one point in time! Guys like Kobe and Wade came along and passed him by. But he was REVOLUTIONIZING the SG spot at the same time as MJ. The SG had never seen guys with that blend of scoring ability, all around ability, and freak athletic ability at 6'6-6'7 in the backcourt before.

[WhiteKyrie]

I love Dame but nah

[L.Kizzle]

Another player better than Clyde again? What next, DeMar DeRozan is better than Clyde as well.

Dame is around Timmy Hardaway level right now.