Clyde Drexler is the single season steals per game leader for Portland.
We’ll take a look at which players have posted the best averages of steals per game through the history of the Portland Trail Blazers organization.
Note that steals became an official stat in 1973-74.
Clyde Drexler – 1989, 2.7 steals per game
Drexler was known as one of the most complete and versatile players in the NBA during his prime years, and he was a player capable of making a huge impact on both ends of the court. He was well-known for his scoring prowess, but he was also a better defender than given credit for. He ranked in a tie for fourth place in the SPG category during the 1988-89 season with 2.7 steals per game, as he sat behind John Stockton (3.2), Alvin Robertson (3.0) and Michael Jordan (2.9) while tied for fourth place with Fat Lever.
Larry Steele – 1974, 2.7 steals per game
Steele has three of the top nine seasons in Trail Blazers history when it comes to the category of steals per game, but his best one came in the 1973-74 campaign. Not only did he post a career-best 2.7 SPG, but he led the NBA in that category ahead of Steve Mix (2.6) and Randy Smith (2.5). Aside from the 2.7 steals per game, Steele also averaged 9.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game across 81 regular-season contests.
Clyde Drexler – 1986, 2.6 steals per game
The 2.6 steals per game that Drexler averaged during the 1985-86 season, his third year in The Association, were the third-best mark in the league behind Alvin Robertson, who led the NBA with 3.7, and Michael Ray Richardson’s 2.7. Drexler also averaged 18.5 points, 8.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game that year en route to the first of his 10 career All-Star nods. That season, Drexler established career-high marks in each of the five major categories, although he’d end up surpassing each of those tallies as his career progressed.
Clyde Drexler – 1988, 2.5 steals per game
Drexler also made the All-Star Game in the 1987-88 season, and he established a new career-high mark in scoring after averaging 27.0 points per game. Drexler posted 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists as well, and in terms of the SPG category, he ranked fifth in the league behind Michael Jordan (3.2), Alvin Robertson (3.0), John Stockton (3.0) and Fat Lever (2.7). It was one of Drexler’s most successful individual seasons, as he finished fifth in MVP voting and eighth in the Defensive Player of the Year race while making the All-NBA 2nd Team.
Clyde Drexler – 1987, 2.5 steals per game
The 1986-87 season was another successful campaign for Drexler on both ends of the court. Even though “The Glide” didn’t make the All-Star team like in the previous campaign, he established a new career-high mark in scoring (up until that time) with 21.7 points per game. In terms of the SPG category, Drexler was tied for fourth in the league next to Fat Lever and Ron Harper, though they were behind Alvin Robertson (3.2), Michael Jordan (2.9) and Maurice Cheeks (2.6). That season, a total of 10 players averaged at least 2.0 steals per game.
