Santa Clyde to the rescue

When Boston put together its trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, a comparison was frequently drawn to a Houston team of a decade ago.

Charles Barkley already dismissed the analogy, and Clyde Drexler joined in this week.

Barkley noted the Boston group is younger, saying he, Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon were “way too old, we were all past our primes,” by the time they got started in 1996. They were together two seasons, failing to reach the NBA finals.

To Drexler, it isn’t a question of age, but experience.

“Ray Allen and Garnett are not young puppies, but the difference is I had gone to the NBA finals and we had won,” Drexler said. “I had gone like three or four times and I had won a title. Hakeem had two titles and Charles had been to the finals, so we had already had a taste of what it was like to be at the pinnacle of the game.

Now, Drexler wants holiday shoppers to like what NBAStore.com offers.

The league relaunched the Web site this month and is getting an assist from Drexler, who will deliver a grand prize of Spalding’s new “BEAST” portable backboard system, along with a rack of balls, to one shopper in “Drexler’s Slam Dunk Delivery.”

“They’ve got me playing Santa Clyde,” Drexler said.

Anyone making a purchase on NBAStore.com before Jan. 15 is eligible to win one of the prizes, which total $10,000. Ten customers will receive a “thank you” call from Drexler, but he said the bigger reward goes to the one who gets the personal delivery.

“If they’re really nice, I may even teach them a dance step or two,” he said.