Forgotten Stars: John Drew
Recapping Drew's sad journey from young star to league pariah.
When I was writing my post on the most proficient scorers in NBA history last week, I was somewhat surprised to see John Drew in 15th place on the career leaderboard with a figure of 23.9 (he ranks eighth if you exclude active players). If you’ve heard of Drew, it’s probably because he was the first player banned from the NBA for multiple violations of the league’s substance abuse policy, but for a time he was one of the brightest young stars in professional basketball.
Drew was born in Vredenburgh, Alabama on Sep. 30, 1954. He attended J.F. Shields High School in Beatrice, Alabama, where he averaged 44.0 PPG as a senior and 41.0 PPG for his career (the latter is still the state record).
Drew continued his playing career at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. The 6-foot-6-inch forward averaged 24.4 PPG as a freshman in 1972-73, then earned NAIA All-American honors in his sophomore season with averages of 25.9 PPG and 13.0 RPG.
Following his sophomore campaign, the 19-year-old Drew declared himself eligible for the 1974 NBA Draft. He was selected in the second round with the 25th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks.
Drew made his debut on Oct. 18, 1974 at the age of 20 years and 18 days. He tallied 32 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals in an overtime win over the Chicago Bulls, a point total that is still the fourth highest in NBA history by a player in his first career game. It wasn’t the most efficient night for Drew, as he shot just 13-34 from the field.
Less than one month later, on Nov. 16, 1974, Drew became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 40-point, 20-rebound game (a distinction he still holds), producing 44 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, and five steals in a win over the New Orleans Jazz. This time he was incredibly efficient from the floor, knocking down 16 of his 20 attempts.
All in all, Drew’s rookie campaign was a huge success, as he averaged 18.5 PPG and 10.7 RPG in 78 games. He led the league in offensive rebounds (357), ranked fourth in free throws attempted (544), and placed eighth in free throws made (388). Drew was named to the All-Rookie Team and finished second in the Rookie of the Year balloting to Jamaal Wilkes.
Drew was even better for the Hawks in his second season, earning his first career All-Star selection with averages of 21.6 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 77 games. He ranked in the top 15 in the NBA in free throws attempted (656, second), free throws made (488, third), offensive rebounds (286, fourth), points (1,660, 10th), field goal percentage (50.2%, 11th), and steals (138, 15th). In particular, Drew’s field goal percentage was a huge improvement over his rookie mark of 42.8%.
Drew continued to play well for the Hawks in the 1976-77 through 1978-79 seasons, averaging a cumulative 23.4 PPG and 7.7 RPG over 223 games. He averaged a career-high 24.2 PPG in 1976-77, a figure that placed him seventh in the league.
In the 1979-80 season, Drew was named an NBA All-Star for the second and final time. He averaged 20.4 PPG in 55 games prior to the break, but his scoring average fell to 17.4 PPG in the 25 games that followed. For the season, Drew averaged 19.5 PPG on 45.3% shooting from the field, the latter being the worst mark since his rookie campaign.
It’s impossible to know for sure, but my guess would be this is when Drew’s substance abuse really got a stranglehold on him. He played well in the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons, averaging 20.1 PPG in 137 games, but when compared to the promise he showed early in his career, something seemed to be off.
After eight seasons with the Hawks, Atlanta shipped Drew to the Utah Jazz in September 1982 for the third overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft, Dominique Wilkins. Wilkins, of course, would go on to the become one of the greatest players in franchise history, while Drew’s career would spiral out of control.
After playing in just nine games for the Jazz, Drew left the team in later November to deal with what was reported as a “personal” problem. He missed the next 37 games, but returned on Feb. 2, 1983 and appeared in Utah’s final 35 contests. Drew played quite well in those games, averaging 23.0 PPG while shooting 48.4% from the field and 78.0% from the free throw line.
In 1983-84, Drew was moved from the starting lineup to the bench, where he thrived in his new role. Despite logging just 22.2 MPG, Drew averaged 17.7 PPG and finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year Award voting to Kevin McHale. More importantly, the Jazz went 45-37 and won the Midwest Division title after losing 52 games the previous campaign.
Things appeared to be looking up for Drew, but unfortunately it all unraveled the following season. He returned to a starting role for the 1984-85 campaign, averaging 16.2 PPG through his first 19 games. However, on Dec. 3, 1984, Drew missed practice and was benched for the following night’s game versus the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
A few days later, on Dec. 6, Jazz head coach and general manager Frank Layden suspended Drew from the team for an indefinite period. Just two days later, that suspension turned into an outright waiver. Although no one knew it at the time, Drew’s NBA career was over, with averages of 20.7 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 739 games.
Things somehow got worse. In May 1985, Drew was arrested in Salt Lake City for passing bad checks. He eventually pleaded guilty to the charges and entered a local rehabilitation facility, where he received treatment until September 1985.
Unable to hook on with an NBA team, Drew resumed his playing career in 1985-86 with the Wyoming Wildcatters of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). He averaged 25.9 PPG on 53.4% shooting from the floor, was named All-CBA First Team, and won the league’s Newcomer of the Year Award.
On January 21 of that season, Drew was banned from the NBA until at least the 1987-88 season for repeated violations of league’s substance abuse policy. His attorney was informed by NBA general counsel Gary Bettman (current commissioner of the NHL) that the league did not believe Drew had lived up to the terms of his follow-up program.
Ten months later, in October 1986, Drew was arrested in Atlanta for trying to sell cocaine to an undercover FBI agent. Then in December 1986, Drew was arrested for criminal solicitation after trying to purchase cocaine from an undercover police officer. After the latter arrest, not much was heard from Drew until he was found living in Houston in 2002. He chose not to discuss what had happened in the intervening years, saying it would be “inappropriate to talk about it right now.”
That time never came. On April 10, 2022, Drew passed away in Houston after a fight with bone cancer. He was 67 years old.