Anthony Edwards and Clyde Drexler are two NBA stars who have attracted comparisons with Michael Jordan. But who stands better as a player in his own right, the legend from the past or the modern-day star? The debate erupted during a recent episode of the Put Me In The Game Podcast. The podcast started with Marquis Teague’s opinion of being called crazy for calling Drexler better than Edwards.

Arguments in favor of Ant-Man questioned what Drexler did better than the 2x All-Star. “He’s a Hall of Famer,” Teague replied. Further, it does not matter if Ant becomes a HOF later on. But at present, the 10x All-Star stands as a better player in NBA history. Some other arguments that came from the podcast crew in favor of Edwards were that he had better college stats, and his pro career is already better.

And a unique claim from Teague’s co-host that he never saw him killing Michael Jordan, as claimed by Marquis. The 31-year-old first pointed out that Ant has won no chip as compared to Clyde the Glide. As for his MJ claim, Teague agreed Michael Jordan killed Drexler for the majority part. “But he (Drexler) killed too,” the Put Me In The Game Podcast host added. He highlighted he never stated the 10x All-Star to be better than Mike. But just that, he went to Jordan. For those who are unaware, the former Blazers star attracted frequent comparisons with His Airness.

Although MJ stated in The Last Dance that he took offense to the comparison. An interview by one of Jordan’s former teammates revealed the 6x NBA champ agreed on Gilde being just as good as him. “The conversation came up about Clyde Drexler. And MJ said this, and I quote: ‘Clyde Drexler is just as good as me. He just doesn’t know how to play the game.’ Do you follow me? And we aren’t talking about basketball,'” Craig Hodges once said on VLAD TV. So that’s that for the claim against Teague’s opinion on Mike and Drexler.

Now, Marquis did not disagree with the potential of Ant-Man ending with a better career than Clyde. But he speaks of the present moment and wants more respect to be put in the name of NBA veterans. As for the argument regarding college stats and Edwards’ pro career so far, Teague suggested having a look at the larger landscape. So let’s do that.

A closer look at the claims regarding Anthony Edwards and Clyde Drexler’s stats

The only claim that stands in the Wolves star’s favor is his college stats being better than the 10x All-Star. But even not this claim is absolute. As the only department where Edwards has an up on Drexler, is scoring. Ant averaged 19.1 points per game in his one college season as compared to the ex-Blazers star’s 14.4 in 3 seasons. However, in every other department—rebounding, playmaking, steals, blocks, and field goal shooting percentage—Clyde the Glide has an edge over the Wolves star.

Coming to the claim that Edwards already has a better pro-career than the 1995 NBA champ. Yes, he has better stats if his seasons so far are compared. The reason for that is simply that Drexler did not get to start as many games as a rookie. In his debut season, he started just 3 games, playing 17.2 minutes per game. Thus averaging 7.7 ppg. But the moment both players are compared at a similar playing time, Clyde has an edge over the Wolves star.

The 10x All-Star played 82 games in his 4th season, starting in all the games. He averaged 21.7 points per game in the season. Ant played 72 games in his second season, starting in all his games. He averaged 21.3 points per game. This negligible difference becomes notable when comparing the very next season for the two stars. Drexler, in his next season of the league, rose to 27 ppg. Edwards did not cross even the 25 ppg mark until last season. And he is still to touch the 27-pg game mark.

Apart from this, while Edwards is quite evenly matched in his rebounding skills with Clyde, the ex-NBA star possessed better playmaking skills. But above all, Drexler had a better efficiency rating (PER) in every single one of his first 4 seasons, as compared to the 2x All-Star. In his first 4 seasons, Drexler’s PER stood at 19.1 as compared to Ant-Man’s 17.0.

In terms of athletic ability as well, the 1995 NBA champ’s vertical stood at 43 inches as compared to Ant’s 41. Yet another aspect is that the former Blazers star stayed consistent throughout, as he closed his career’s last season with the Rockets at 18.4 ppg. There is a long path that Anthony Edwards has to cover before we discover if he can maintain a similar consistency. And possibly surpass the former Portland Blazers star.

Stay tuned for more such updates. Join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host, BG12, sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.