Drexel Dragons Who Made It To The NBA And WNBA
Drexel University has many claims to educational and sporting fame throughout its long history. But not everyone might know that it was just the fifth US school to start up collegiate basketball. Unsurprisingly, the first game was against fellow Philadelphia school, Temple. The final score was a resounding 26-1 win, by the way.
But it wasn’t until 1974 that the Dragons joined Division I and that is one of the reasons that there has not always been much Drexel representation in the NBA and WNBA. But there have been some of our most elite athletes playing at the top of the game, representing pro teams as far away as California. Here are four of the hoops stars that the current rosters hope to emulate.
Gabriela Marginean
Only two women’s basketball jersey numbers have ever been retired at Drexel – and one of those was Gabriela Marginean’s #44. In four years as a Dragon, the Romanian forward won a wide range of awards – both from the school and wider institutions – and led Drexel to its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament in 2009.
Marginean was actually a two-sport athlete at Drexel and her 2,581 points make her Philadelphia’s highest-scoring women’s basketball player. She was drafted to the Minnesota Lynx as the 26th pick of the 2010 WNBA Draft but was waived from the roster after just four games. She has since gone on to continue a long career playing for some of the best basketball teams in Europe and is currently in Turkey with Izmit Belediyespor.
Michael Anderson
Anderson was the first Drexel basketball player to ever make the roster of an NBA team. After a glittering college career, he was taken by the Indian Pacers in the third round of the 1988 NBA Draft and 73rd overall. Still ranked 12th all-time for steals in the NCAA, Anderson led the men’s Dragons team to their first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament, where they lost to eventual champions Louisville.
Earlier in that season, Anderson had inspired the Drexel Dragons to one of its biggest wins of all time, beating the David Robinson-led Navy team. He eventually played for the San Antonio Spurs before moving to Spain and running out for some of the biggest teams in the country. After winning a championship in Turkey he returned to the States to play for a Pennsylvania team in the USBL before retiring from the game. His jersey number is one of just two retired for men’s basketball at Drexel.
Damion Lee
The only former Drexel Dragon currently playing in the NBA, Damion Lee abruptly ended his time at the school to finish his college career with Louisville. But as that institution was then banned from NCAA Tournament participation, he went undrafted even though he had previously been considered a major talent.
While at Drexel, Lee immediately impressed and he was named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year in 2012. He continued to do well in his second year as a Dragon and scored a career-high 34 points in one game at Old Dominion. Some serious injuries affected his numbers in his remaining time at the school though, before he ultimately transferred out.
After going undrafted, Lee played in the NBA Development League and the G League before finally making the big league, signing with the Atlanta Hawks in 2018. He moved to the Golden State Warriors later that year though and ended up signing a multi-year contract in 2020. While at the Warriors he became just the second former Drexel Dragon to win an NBA championship. He is currently in Phoenix where he helped the Suns reach the Conference Semifinals earlier this year.
Malik Rose
Undoubtedly the finest men’s basketball player ever to pull on a Drexel Dragons jersey, Malik Rose can look back on a long and distinguished NBA career as a much-loved and admired player wherever he went. But it was at Drexel where he first really came to prominence, leading the team to its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament win in 1996. The team was later inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.
Rose graduated as the 2nd leading rebounder in NCAA history and was taken by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft. He made the playoffs in his first season in the league but it was his time in San Antonio that he really shined. As a key member of one of the best Spurs teams ever, he won two championships in 1999 and 2003.
After playing for the Knicks and the Thunder, Rose became a successful color commentator for a number of teams before taking up front office positions as an executive in the NBA G League. True to his hometown routes, Rose is involved in the Malik’s Philly Phamous restaurant in San Antonio, whose specialty happens to be a Philly cheesesteak.