As a neutral observer, and based only on stats, I'm going to have to say Barkley. Why? #5 in the league in PER, #4 in Defensive Rebound %, #2 in Total Rebound %, #4 in Win Shares, #4 in Box PlusMinus. Drex: all-star, but not found in the top 5 of any given category.
Barkley was more effective. Clyde was still good but the signs were starting to show that age was catching up.
chuck got a ton of rebounds, but clyde's turnaround baseline J over detlef won us game 7 vs SEA. clyde also had a huge game 6 vs UTA, a game that chuck lost us in the 4th Q insisting to post up malone with zero success over and over again.
Barkley He averaged 13 rebounds that year, his second highest career average Drexler was still good obviously but he suffered one of the steepest declines I have ever seen from the championship year to the next He may have put up good stats but was not the same physically
Here is a specific I remember about each player. Drexler; in the Finals against Orlando we had a decent lead with about 5-6 minutes to go and really needed to chew some clock. On every play Drex brought the ball up and drove to the basket late in the shot clock. I'm pretty sure he made less than half, but they were soft on the rim and available for Hakeem to tip in. I'd guess on 10 carries Drexler made four and Hakeem tipped in three and next thing you know we are shooting 70% on a slow clock and the game is all but over. At least that is how I remember it. On the surface it was noting dramatic, but it was veteran leadership that cemented a championship. Barkley; I don't remember the exact game, but I think it was a playoff game I was at with my brother - a baseball fan. It was a team we had a lot of difficulty beating and we had trouble putting them away this game. If you remember those days, we had a great defense, but didn't rebound worth a crap. Rockets would hold opponents to sub 40% shooting but give up baskets on second and third efforts. In this game I remember Hakeem blocking the game winning shot with about 2 seconds to go, Barkley picked up the loose ball and the game was over. On the way home I asked my brother if he remembered the lat pay and he cited the block. I said, not it was the rebound. Previous to Barkley that would have gone to them, there would be a time out and we would have to do it all over again. Which was better? Both had their moments, but man I hated to give up Thorpe. Barkley trade seemed like talent for talent to me. Thorpe seemed like a really good player (and the perfect fit next to Hakeem), for a guy on the decline. Don't think I could have pulled that trigger. And that is why I'm not a big time GM.
