32 Years Ago, Clyde Drexler Became The Blazers’ Leading Scorer

On December 26, 1989, the Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Phoenix Suns in a 121-105 loss.

Suns guard Kevin Johnson recorded a triple-double with 31 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, but the Blazers recorded a major moment in its franchise history.

Clyde Drexler finished the game with 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the losing effort, but also left the contest with the franchise record for points, surpassing Jim Paxson, who scored 10,003 points.

Since then, Jerome Kersey, Cliff Robinson, CJ McCollum, Terry Porter, LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard have surpassed Paxson’s mark along with Drexler, but nobody has been able to move past Drexler, who left the Blazers in 1995 after scoring 18,040 points.

As of the publishing of this post, Lillard sits at 17,434, just 606 behind “The Glide.”

With 50 games left in the Blazers’ season, Lillard needs to average just over 12.1 points per game to achieve the mark this season. Assuming he stays healthy, it’s probably a record he will surpass in 2022.

It’s definitely a moment to celebrate, and the fact that Drexler has held on to this record for 32 years is also something to clap for.