 Drew in 1974 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1954-09-30)September 30, 1954 Vredenburgh, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | April 10, 2022(2022-04-10) (aged 67) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | J. F. Shields (Beatrice, Alabama) |
| College | Gardner–Webb (1972–1974) |
| NBA draft | 1974: 2nd round, 25th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Atlanta Hawks |
| Playing career | 1974–1986 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Number | 22, 20 |
| Career history | |
| 1974–1982 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1982–1984 | Utah Jazz |
| 1985–1986 | Wyoming Wildcatters |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 15,291 (20.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 5,088 (6.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,224 (1.7 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
John Edward Drew (September 30, 1954 – April 10, 2022) was an American professionalbasketball player. Asmall forward fromGardner–Webb University, he played eleven seasons in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Drew was a two-timeNBA All-Star, and was the first player banned under thesubstance abuse policy instituted by league commissionerDavid Stern.
Drew was born inVredenburgh, Alabama,[1] on September 30, 1954.[2] He attendedJ.F. Shields High School inBeatrice, Alabama.[1][2] He led the school to a state championship in 1972.[3] He set theAlabama High School Athletic Association career scoring average record with 41.0points per game.[1]
After graduating from high school, Drew played basketball atGardner–Webb University.[2] He averaged 24.4 points during hisfreshman year, before improving to 25.9 points and 13rebounds as asophomore.[3] He was selected in the second round of the1974 NBA draft by theAtlanta Hawks.[2] He would later be joined byArtis Gilmore andEddie Lee Wilkins as the only alumni of Gardner–Webb University to play in the NBA.[4]
Drew made his NBA debut on October 18, 1974,[2] scoring 32 points to go along with 12 rebounds and threeassists against theChicago Bulls.[5] He quickly made an impact with the Hawks, averaging 18.5 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game, and leading the NBA in offensive rebounding (357) during his rookie season.[2] He was named to theNBA All-Rookie Team.[6] From 1974 to 1982, Drew starred for the Hawks, with whom he was a two-timeAll-Star (1976 and1980), averaging more than 20 points per game on five occasions (1976–79 and 1981).[2] He averaged 21.6 points in his second season, when he was named an all-star for the first time. The next season in 1976–77, he averaged almost 25 point per game.[7] In 1976 and 1977, he ranked in the top 10 in points and points per game in the NBA.[2]
WithJason Kidd, Drew holds the NBA record for most turnovers in a regular season game (14). Drew set that mark with the Hawks in a March 1, 1978 game against New Jersey.[8] However, he recorded 12.4turnover percentage in the league that season, finishing eighteenth in the NBA. He then bettered that mark to 11.2 the following year, the twelfth-lowest in the league.[2]
Drew was traded along withFreeman Williams and cash to theUtah Jazz on September 2, 1982, in exchange forDominique Wilkins.[2][6] Drew went on to play three seasons (1982–1985) with the franchise.[6] He won the Player of the Week award on March 6, 1983.[2] He was waived in the middle of the1984–85 season after relapsing.[9] He finished with NBA career with 15,291 points and averages of 20.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.[2][9]
Drew played in theContinental Basketball Association (CBA) in hopes of returning to the NBA.[10][11] He spent the 1985–86 season with theWyoming Wildcatters where he was nominated to the All-CBA First Team and chosen as the CBA Newcomer of the League.[12]
Drew battledcocaine addiction during his professional basketball career. He missed 38 games during the 1982–83 season as he spent eight weeks indrug rehab.[7] He was the runner-up that season in voting for theNBA Comeback Player of the Year Award behindPaul Westphal of theNew York Knicks.[13] He relapsed during the 1984–85 season and was waived by the Jazz, then was arrested in May 1985 forpassing bad checks.[11] The third-degree felony charge was reduced in aplea bargain to a suspended jail sentence, and Drew was ordered to enter a drug rehabilitation program.[14] TheWashington Bullets expressed interest in signing him in December, but were prohibited from doing so by the league due to his past infractions.[11]
In January 1986, Drew became the first player to be banned by NBA commissionerDavid Stern for multiple violations of the league'ssubstance abuse policy.[15] He was not on an NBA roster at the time, but the league considered his most recent rehab stint to be his third violation under the league's drug policy.[11] He could not seek reinstatement until the 1987–88 season.[15] Drew opined that the policy "will keep guys from coming forward and admitting they still have a problem."[15]
In late 1986, he was arrested in Atlanta twice in less than three months, first on October 2 for selling cocaine to anundercover agent[16] and then on December 17 for cocaine possession and purchasing the drug from an undercover agent.[17]
After several years out of the public eye, Drew resurfaced in 2002, when he told theAtlanta Journal-Constitution that he had a grip on his addiction, without going into further details.[18] He worked as a taxi driver inHouston during his later years.[1]
Drew died on April 10, 2022, in Houston. He was 67, and suffered from Stage IVbone cancer prior to his death.[1][19]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | Atlanta | 78 | – | 29.3 | .428 | – | .713 | 10.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 18.5 |
| 1975–76 | Atlanta | 77 | – | 30.5 | .502 | – | .744 | 8.6 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 21.6 |
| 1976–77 | Atlanta | 74 | – | 36.3 | .487 | – | .714 | 9.1 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 24.2 |
| 1977–78 | Atlanta | 70 | – | 31.5 | .480 | – | .760 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 23.2 |
| 1978–79 | Atlanta | 79 | – | 30.5 | .473 | – | .731 | 6.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 22.7 |
| 1979–80 | Atlanta | 80 | – | 28.8 | .453 | .000 | .757 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 19.5 |
| 1980–81 | Atlanta | 67 | – | 31.0 | .456 | .000 | .787 | 5.7 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 21.7 |
| 1981–82 | Atlanta | 70 | 51 | 29.1 | .486 | .333 | .741 | 5.4 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 18.5 |
| 1982–83 | Utah | 44 | 33 | 27.4 | .474 | .000 | .755 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 21.2 |
| 1983–84 | Utah | 81 | 4 | 22.2 | .479 | .273 | .778 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 17.7 |
| 1984–85 | Utah | 19 | 16 | 24.4 | .412 | .000 | .770 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 16.2 |
| Career | 739 | 104 | 29.5 | .470 | .175 | .748 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 20.7 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 1 | 12.0 | .143 | – | .800 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Atlanta | 2 | – | 39.5 | .429 | – | .625 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 26.0 |
| 1979 | Atlanta | 9 | – | 30.6 | .420 | – | .761 | 6.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 16.1 |
| 1980 | Atlanta | 5 | – | 30.0 | .381 | – | .714 | 6.0 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 14.6 |
| 1982 | Atlanta | 2 | – | 29.5 | .364 | – | .583 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.5 |
| 1984 | Utah | 11 | – | 15.6 | .506 | – | .788 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 10.2 |
| Career | 29 | – | 25.3 | .431 | – | .725 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 14.0 | |
Source:[2]
· Basketball Reference