John Drew

John Edward Drew (September 30, 1954 – April 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. A small forward from Gardner–Webb University, he played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drew was a two-time NBA All-Star, and was the first player banned under the substance abuse policy instituted by league commissioner David Stern.

Early life Drew was born in Vredenburgh, Alabama, on September 30, 1954. He set the Alabama High School Athletic Association career scoring average record with 41.0 points per game. He would later be joined by Artis Gilmore and Eddie Lee Wilkins as the only alumni of Gardner–Webb University to play in the NBA.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (1974–1982) Drew made his NBA debut on October 18, 1974, 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. 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). 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. He finished with NBA career with 15,291 points and averages of 20.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Drug addiction 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. 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. He relapsed during the 1984–85 season and was waived by the Jazz, then was arrested in May 1985 for passing bad checks. 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. The Washington Bullets expressed interest in signing him in December, but were prohibited from doing so by the league due to his past infractions. 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. and then on December 17 for cocaine possession and purchasing the drug from an undercover agent.

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. He worked as a taxi driver in Houston during his later years.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Source: