Who's higher on your all time SG list: Clyde Drexler or George Gervin

[mdonnelly1989]

Who's higher on your all time SG list: Clyde Drexler or George Gervin

[70sFan]

Gervin, reasonably close but I prefer his elite offense over Drexler's versatility.

[LAL1947]

Personally, I find it really hard to choose between Drexler, Gervin, Harden and Wade as players over their careers because of difference in era/rules and team situations too. So, I prefer ranking SGs in tiers, and I have them all in the same tier.

Tier 1A: MJ
---
Tier 1B: Kobe, West
---
Tier 2: Wade, Harden, Drexler, Gervin
---
Tier 3: Reggie, Ray Allen, Iverson
(Reggie and Ray are more portable to today than Drexler/Gervin/Wade but I'm dinging them for defense/athleticism)
---
Tier 4: Manu, Klay, Vince, Dumars, etc
(Manu could have been in Tier 2 or 3 if he played more minutes as a starter. Klay is another tough one for me to rate. He's so impactful on both ends and probably could be in Tier 2. Yet we have to ask, could he be the #1 option on a team like Wade/Harden/Clyde, or even Ray/Reggie... and what would that look like? Btw, I also flip-flop a lot with Iverson, sometimes putting him in Tier 3, sometimes in Tier 4.)

I'm probably forgetting a few SGs who deserve to be named with these guys. Just listed names off the top of my head.

[mdonnelly1989]

Personally, I find it really hard to choose between Drexler, Gervin, Harden and Wade as players over their careers because of different in era/rules and team situations too. So, I prefer ranking SGs in tiers, and I have them all in the same tier.

Tier 1A: MJ
---
Tier 1B: Kobe, West
---
Tier 2: Wade, Harden, Gervin, Drexler
---
Tier 3: Reggie, Ray Allen, Iverson
(Reggie and Ray are more portable to today than Gervin/Drexler/Wade but I'm dinging them for defense/athleticism)
---
Tier 4: Manu, Klay, Vince, Dumars, etc
(Manu could have been in Tier 2 or 3 if he played more minutes as a starter. Klay is another tough one for me to rate. He's so impactful on both ends and probably could be in Tier 2. Yet we have to ask, could he be the #1 option on a team like Wade/Harden/Clyde, or even Ray/Reggie... and what would that look like? Btw, I also flip-flop a lot with Iverson, sometimes putting him in Tier 3, sometimes in Tier 4.)

I'm probably forgetting a few SGs who deserve to be named with these guys. Just listed names off the top of my head.

I think Wade is relatively close if you just look at his primes to Kobe but his prime is waaay too short. So I can see this. I'd still have Wade over Harden because I think his prime was just that much better than Hardens. What he did in 2006 was far greater than anything Harden has done as he's come up super short in the playoffs where as Wade super performed in the playoffs.

Harden IMO is a top 50 player of all time. Wade is top 30

[falcolombardi]

I am not knowledgeable enough on gervin to answer

[tsherkin]

Tough call. I lean on Drexler because he had the Blazers competitive for a long time and had that sweet three-year stretch where he was in the Finals twice and the WCFs in between (2nd-best record in the league twice, best record one year as well). Strong offensive impact, good defender, versatile player. not a GREAT scorer, but had a solid prime.

Gervin, some of the value will come to some people for his ABA career, which I personally ignore in NBA comparisons, but it's not like you overlook titles or anything by ignoring his ABA years as one does with, say, Dr J. Gervin was an excellent scorer and not a lot else, did okay with the Spurs during his hey day, but really wasn't a broad enough player to be That Guy. At his apex, he touched the bottom end of Drexler's prime, but that doesn't help him here. Did less with his team, doesn't grade out as well. He's all PPG, you know? Efficient, as well, but like, he didn't have the punch to make that matter more with playmaking and that really hurt his overall utility, particularly given his lack of defensive value, IMHO.

Fun to watch, though; very smooth.

[No-more-rings]

Gervin, reasonably close but I prefer his elite offense over Drexler's versatility.

Isn’t Drexler a considerably better defender?

[70sFan]

Spoiler:

Gervin, reasonably close but I prefer his elite offense over Drexler's versatility.

Isn’t Drexler a considerably better defender?

Yes, I would say so. Peak Gervin was far from bad (1978-80) and he had moments when he could show a lot of potential on that end. I don't think Drexler was ever a shutdown defender

[70sFan]

Tough call. I lean on Drexler because he had the Blazers competitive for a long time and had that sweet three-year stretch where he was in the Finals twice and the WCFs in between (2nd-best record in the league twice, best record one year as well). Strong offensive impact, good defender, versatile player. not a GREAT scorer, but had a solid prime.

Gervin, some of the value will come to some people for his ABA career, which I personally ignore in NBA comparisons, but it's not like you overlook titles or anything by ignoring his ABA years as one does with, say, Dr J. Gervin was an excellent scorer and not a lot else, did okay with the Spurs during his hey day, but really wasn't a broad enough player to be That Guy. At his apex, he touched the bottom end of Drexler's prime, but that doesn't help him here. Did less with his team, doesn't grade out as well. He's all PPG, you know? Efficient, as well, but like, he didn't have the punch to make that matter more with playmaking and that really hurt his overall utility, particularly given his lack of defensive value, IMHO.

Fun to watch, though; very smooth.

Drexler played on extremely stacked Blazers teams, next to a player who was arguably more impactful than him. Gervin didn't have such luxury and he still made the Spurs competitive in postseason.

You say that Gervin wasn't versatile enough to be that guy, but was Drexler ever "that guy"? Gervin was a strong candidate for the MVP in 1978-80 period, finishing 2nd twice and 3rd once. It wasn't the situation when he collected votes because of team success, he was just good enough. Of course, scoring a lot of points always helps and you can argue he shouldn't get as many votes as he did, but still. He anchored elite offenses without having elite offensive teammates. I don't think you can deny that he was very impactful player, much more than your typical scoring wing like Melo for example.

I also disagree that Gervin was "all scoring, nothing else". He was excellent off-ball player who scaled well with ball-dominant teammates. He was a great shooter for his era and he provided a lot of spacing. He wasn't a great defender, but wasn't a liability until he got older and he gave you legit rim protection at guard position.

[CharityStripe34]

Obligatory

[Bubbachuck2]

Drexler. Brings more to the table (defense, passing etc) and could fit next to another star.

[wojoaderge]

could fit next to another star.

Special K, A-Train?

[tsherkin]

Drexler played on extremely stacked Blazers teams, next to a player who was arguably more impactful than him. Gervin didn't have such luxury and he still made the Spurs competitive in postseason.

You say that Gervin wasn't versatile enough to be that guy, but was Drexler ever "that guy"? Gervin was a strong candidate for the MVP in 1978-80 period, finishing 2nd twice and 3rd once. It wasn't the situation when he collected votes because of team success, he was just good enough. Of course, scoring a lot of points always helps and you can argue he shouldn't get as many votes as he did, but still. He anchored elite offenses without having elite offensive teammates. I don't think you can deny that he was very impactful player, much more than your typical scoring wing like Melo for example.

I would absolutely agree that he was a lot better than Melo, yes.

I also disagree that Gervin was "all scoring, nothing else". He was excellent off-ball player who scaled well with ball-dominant teammates. He was a great shooter for his era and he provided a lot of spacing.

That is all scoring

He wasn't a great defender, but wasn't a liability until he got older and he gave you legit rim protection at guard position.

"Not a liability" isn't a bonus, it's the absence of a negative, at least in my book, particularly compared to his peers (and in context, he slides a lot because Drexler was actually a good defender).

YMMV, I mean I have loved watching what games of Gervin's I have because he's smooth as, and was a wonderful scorer. One of the best, but in terms of overall value, he was pretty good from 78-82, but Drexler's overall impact profile was better. Gervin was the better scorer between the two, but Clyde just did more and exerted more palpable force on both ends of the court, IMHO.

[NW BBALL]

Drexler's overall impact profile was better. Gervin was the better scorer between the two, but Clyde just did more and exerted more palpable force on both ends of the court, IMHO.

As evidenced by leading the Blazers to the Finals twice in a three year span with a still franchise best RS in between. Yes, those Blazer teams were very talented but Clyde was the best player (w/ Porter not far behind) on a genuine contender in the early 90s. Then he went to Houston and played a crucial role in the Rockets defending their title. I am confident the Rockets don’t make it through the murders row that was the Western Conference playoffs in 1995 without Drexler despite Hakeem’s brilliant play. Hakeem’s ‘95 Finals is legendary but people forget that Drexler averaged 21.5/9.5/6.8 that series too.

[SHAQ32]

Personally, I find it really hard to choose between Drexler, Gervin, Harden and Wade as players over their careers because of difference in era/rules and team situations too. So, I prefer ranking SGs in tiers, and I have them all in the same tier.

Tier 1A: MJ
---
Tier 1B: Kobe, West
---
Tier 2: Wade, Harden, Drexler, Gervin
---
Tier 3: Reggie, Ray Allen, Iverson
(Reggie and Ray are more portable to today than Drexler/Gervin/Wade but I'm dinging them for defense/athleticism)
---
Tier 4: Manu, Klay, Vince, Dumars, etc
(Manu could have been in Tier 2 or 3 if he played more minutes as a starter. Klay is another tough one for me to rate. He's so impactful on both ends and probably could be in Tier 2. Yet we have to ask, could he be the #1 option on a team like Wade/Harden/Clyde, or even Ray/Reggie... and what would that look like? Btw, I also flip-flop a lot with Iverson, sometimes putting him in Tier 3, sometimes in Tier 4.)

I'm probably forgetting a few SGs who deserve to be named with these guys. Just listed names off the top of my head.

Cool list. But what makes you put Drexler on another tier over Reggie Miller and Ray Allen?

[Cavsfansince84]

This is extremely close imo. Similar to the Nash/Stockton thread in that its hard to just vote imo without putting a decent amount of thought or research into it(unless you already have before). I think am going to have to lean George baseed on hhis ability to find another gear in thee playoffs on top of already being a top 10 scoring wing in nba history. He led the league in playoff scoring a bunch of times(usually on very strong efficiency) and had more team success than I think most may be aware of though Drexler's slight prime length adv does give me pause.

[HeartBreakKid]

Drexler's overall impact profile was better. Gervin was the better scorer between the two, but Clyde just did more and exerted more palpable force on both ends of the court, IMHO.

As evidenced by leading the Blazers to the Finals twice in a three year span with a still franchise best RS in between. Yes, those Blazer teams were very talented but Clyde was the best player (w/ Porter not far behind) on a genuine contender in the early 90s. Then he went to Houston and played a crucial role in the Rockets defending their title. I am confident the Rockets don’t make it through the murders row that was the Western Conference playoffs in 1995 without Drexler despite Hakeem’s brilliant play. Hakeem’s ‘95 Finals is legendary but people forget that Drexler averaged 21.5/9.5/6.8 that series too.

Is that saying anything? Many teams would not make it without their 2nd best player.

[NW BBALL]

Is that saying anything? Many teams would not make it without their 2nd best player.

I say it because he was a key element in overcoming one of the toughest roads to the Finals any team has ever faced. First, a 60 win - 7.76 SRS Utah Jazz team led by Stockton and Malone. Then a 59 win Suns team led by Barkley and Johnson. Finally, a battle against the 62 win Spurs led by league MVP Davidson Robinson.

Drexler is often disregarded by many modern fans as just very athletic yet unrefined but he was a highly versatile player who contributed to winning basketball wherever he played.