Drew made his NBA debut on October 18, 1974,[2] scoring 32 points to go along with 12 rebounds and three assists against the Chicago 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 the NBA All-Rookie Team.[6] From 1974 to 1982, Drew starred for the Hawks, with whom he was a two-time All-Star (1976 and 1980), 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]
With Jason 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 12.4 turnover 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]
Utah Jazz (1982–1984)
Drew was traded along with Freeman Williams and cash to the Utah Jazz on September 2, 1982, in exchange for Dominique 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 the 1984–85 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 battled cocaine addiction during his professional basketball career. He missed 38 games during the 1982–83 season as he spent eight weeks in drug rehab.[7] He was the runner-up that season in voting for the NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award behind Paul Westphal of the New York Knicks.[13] He relapsed during the 1984–85 season and was waived by the Jazz, then was arrested in May 1985 for passing bad checks.[11] The third-degree felony charge was reduced in a plea bargain to a suspended jail sentence, and Drew was ordered to enter a drug rehabilitation program.[14] The Washington 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 commissioner David Stern for multiple violations of the league's substance 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 an undercover agent[16] and then on December 17 for cocaine possession and purchasing the drug from an undercover agent.[17]
Later life
After several years out of the public eye, Drew resurfaced in 2002, when he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had a grip on his addiction, without going into further details.[18] He worked as a taxi driver in Houston during his later years.[1]
Drew died on April 10, 2022, in Houston. He was 67, and suffered from Stage IV bone cancer prior to his death.[1][19]
