When a new player joins a championship-winning franchise in the NBA, the expectations are clear. Regardless of his reputation, he is supposed to adjust his attitude, discipline his approach and set the right tone in order to earn the respect of his teammates. And for the Houston Rockets in the mid-1990s, this expectation was no different when Clyde Drexler joined them midway through the season. However, the 10-time All-Star was so set and stern in his ways that he even refused to show up in training sessions on time. Thus, as per Robert Horry, the entire Rockets organization devised a unique strategy to deal with their new teammate’s nonpunctuality.
Horry hilariously confronted Drexler about his behavior
At that time, Hakeem Olajuwon was the undisputed leader and “alpha” for the Rockets team, who in the 1993-94 season had won the MVP, DPOY and Finals MVP award all together. Still, despite Hakeem’s dominance, the players knew that they needed Drexler in form in order to successfully defend their title.
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But the problems were hard to ignore. “Clyde The Glide” arrived consistently late for practices, which forced the other players to start all over.
As a result, as per Horry, the team came up with an unusual solution. Instead of repeatedly confronting Drexler for his tardiness and creating issues in camaraderie, they decided to tell him an earlier practice time than the actual start. That way, when Drexler rolled into the facility “on time” by his standards, he would arrive just as the rest of the team was getting ready, ensuring no valuable time was wasted, especially when the campaign was tethering the business end of the regular season.
“I gotta tell you something too, I don’t think you knew this. When you got on the team, you were known for being late all the time,” Horry told Drexler. “We changed the time of the practice. We said practice was going to be at 10:30, and we told you that, but we told everybody else that practice was at 11:00 so that practice could start on time.”
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Drexler was well aware of what he was doing
Perhaps part of Drexler’s nonchalant attitude could be traced back to his years with the Trail Blazers. For nearly eight straight seasons before the trade went down, he had been the unquestioned No. 1 option and franchise cornerstone in Portland. Everything in the organization, from practice schedules to team operations, was built around him. Put simply, if Drexler showed up late, his teammates adjusted.
Moreover, as per Drexler, Portland even had a system of fines to ensure everyone was on time, and he knew that things could be taken lightly in Houston, as there would be no such measures over there.
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“In Portland, we had a system; if you were late, you had to pay everybody,” the star guard explained at the time. “(When in Houston), I wasn’t paying no fines, I was an own-time guy.”
Safe to say that while Robert might chuckle after all these years, during that time, Clyde’s early days with his new teammates weren’t exactly smooth, and his first impression left some players frustrated. However, as fans know, basketball has a way of resolving conflicts that words cannot.
He averaged 20.5 points per game in the playoffs and delivered when it mattered most, to form a solid rapport with the Rockets players, showing that his commitment on the court was second to none.
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Meta Description: Clyde Drexler knew that the Houston Rockets had no fines imposed on their players for being late for practices and thus, took things lightly.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.