The Portland coach actually called Bobby Knight before the draft and asked him his opinion. Bobby Knight told him MJ was the greatest player he had ever seen. The Portland coach said, "but we need a center", to which Bobby Knight responded, "then draft MJ and play him at center!"
As a Portland native, the most heartbreaking thing is watching the franchise make the same mistake twice. Ok so they take a big man with knee problems in Bowie to fill a position need over a clear future star like Jordan. i can understand one big mistake cursing a franchise if it happens once but u better learn from it. Then in 2007 the Blazers select another big man with knee problems in Greg Oden to fill a position need instead of an obvious star talent like Kevin Durant! Wtf?
Jordan wasn’t the number one pick because the 80’s were big man dominant. Teams believed they couldn’t win without a strong center, back then it was laughable at best to conceive that a team couldn’t compete LET ALONE WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP around a guard. The triangle offense and Jordan’s exceptional talent shattered that idea
@@seanogrady2629that’s a bad, bad decision. Even if you don’t need a centre, you are drafting a guy with huge market value. Portland should have drafted Jordan and then traded either Jordan or Clyde for a centre. They gave up on by far the better player and gambled hugely on a centre that had already been proven to be injury prone.
@@seanogrady2629 not in this case. This was a team taking a player known to be injury prone without a huge amount of upside over a guy that everyone in basketball had as their 1 or 1A pick.
If a team needs a center and you have literally the absolute uncontested best center available at the time and easily a top 5 of ANY era... I mean.. yah... the hakeem pick can definitely be respected rofl.
Hakeem could have been even better if he played in the early 2000s in his prime People forget he wasn’t just the best post player of all time, but he had a deep mid range and could even knock down open 3s
@@armedjoy3045 Definitely not the dream showed Patrick and David up, All I said was Houston and Portland were shopping the big guys, If they wanted a guard Jordan may have been there call!
The Bulls didn't even want Jordan at the time; they cursed that Bowie got picked before him. Chicago's GM and head coach at the time both said: We can't build a champion around this guy because he's not seven feet tall. (Amazingly, though, they rejected the Dallas Mavericks' offer to swap picks because Dallas DID really want Jordan and had to settle for Sam Perkins with the 4th pick)
Simple: Hakeem was in that draft. It's a shame about Ralph Sampson's injuries cause I think they would've nabbed 1-2 more rings with him and MJ would've had a legitimate rival.
Without watching this, there were 2 reasons. Back then, highly skilled bigs were far more prized then guards. Secondly, because the 84 Olympics happened after the draft instead of before. Houston would have undeniably picked MJ 1st after seeing him perform vs the NBA All-Stars in a full sweep, and then lead his squad to a gold medal, putting on an absolute clinic, leading the Olympics in scoring.
@@Ryan-wx1bi Houston was a good team on yearly basis so i dont doubt Jordan will win bring them chips. If they won 2 chips with Olujawon then they should be able to win more with Jordan who is better than Olujawon.
The one dude who won rings while Jordan was dominating is the guy that went #1 not hard to understand actually now the #2 pick that’s a whole different story
Back 40 years ago you always took the best big man. Hakeem (back then Akeem) was the consensus #1 overall. A talented 7 footer with high offensive and defensive talent. Sam Bowie was pretty good as well, but as we know injuries derailed his career. Jordan was obviously talented coming out of college, but no one (except for Jordan himself) expected him to become the best that has ever played. If the Bulls had the second pick they may have taken Bowie too. In today’s game with spread offenses and 3 point shooting, having a big guy in the middle to protect the paint isn’t nearly as important.
Jordan was picked third because 1) it was a time when centers were the core of the team, not guards. 2) Houston needed a center so they picked Olajuwon. 3) Portland had picked their own MJ, Drexler, the year before so they took Bowie. There's really no intrigue here. The story is widely known already. Cheers....
Because this era was dominated by big men. Also, Hakeem was the best prospect in this batch so it would be a dumb idea to pass on him. Portland already had Clyde. Him and MJ had identical position which is pure 2-guard. So Portland went on to draft the second best big man in the class. And the rest is history for Chicago.
"Why Was Michael Jordan NOT The #1 NBA Draft Pick"... For the same reason his HS coach didn't think he was good enough to make the team and we see how that turned out!
Size They always Draft Skilled Big Men ,Go look @ all Drafts and See which Year a Guard Or Forward Was Picked Over ,a Center and they take Size But if No Skill or Some
I suppose I am in the minority, but if a man suffers injuries he is not in control of, then I can't call it a bust. It is a tragedy, but not a bust. To me a bust is someone who just can't play at an NBA level, not someone who doesn't really have the chance to prove himself, because of injuries.
There is no way Houston could have passed on Hakeem. The team would have had to move to another state if they did. The Rockets should have traded Ralph Sampson to Portland for the #2 pick and taken Jordon
Jordan might have been the #2 pick had not the Houston Rockets nixed a trade that would have sent Ralph Sampson to Portland for Clyde Drexler and the second pick.
Know else wasn't no. 1? Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Dirk Nowotzki, and a whole bunch of others that are ALL fantastic players. Not everyone can be picked #1.
To Be Honest, Oscar Schmidt Should Be A Hall Of Famer Because He Won International Championships In Different Leauges, Help Brazil Win A Gold Medal Against The United States Led By David Robinson, & Scored 49'737 Total Career Points. & This Man Should've Been A 1st Round Pick, But Then Fell All The Way Down To The 6th Round & The 131st Pick In The 1984 NBA Draft.
Portland offered houston clyde drexler and the number 2 pick for ralph Sampson... Houston declined... Houston could have had olajuwan.. Jordan and drexler
MJ is the goat because he's so advanced in his time. He's the only player you can take from the 90s and can make the 2nd unit of any modern NBA team as he is. It's like getting a soldier from WW1 and still be able to compete in today's fights. That's how good he is.
What?! You can do that with ALL the all-time greats. All of their games can and would flourish today. From big ol Shaq to multidimensional Oscar Robinson there games translate
@@simonhowell4486nope and Shaq was honestly one of the worst examples you could use. Most centers in the nba have to have a shooting ability, are much skinnier than Shaq and play much more roles than he did.
Hold on, 3:20 did you say first they beat the Knicks then the Bulls technically? I’m not watching the rest of this video, obviously you’re a good student of how to edit videos, and making RU-vid videos, but not of the nba. They defeated the Magic in 95, for those of you who also don’t really watch that much basketball.
sorry, its really not that hard to comprehend. Rockets were gonna take Olajuwon no matter. Blazers already had Clyde Drexler, so they needed a big. now there would be none of this shit if Ewing went into the 1984 Draft, bc then he would have been drafted #2 by Blazers, and paired up with Drexler, would have probably won a few titles. the Blazers went to the Finals without a solid/dominant Center, so just imagine what they would have accomplished with Ewing. i always wondered, and it would be the question i would ask Ewing, does he regret not going into the 1984 Draft????
You can’t knock Houston for picking Olajuwon. They did win back to back titles. Yea, I know, MJ was playing baseball, but who knows how history turns out if Olajuwon ended up in Chicago and MJ in Houston. Now Sam Bowie. Yea, Portland probably wishes they could have a do over. MJ and the Glide in the same backcourt would have been fun.
@PIP...33 nawl fella da only superteam Jordan played on was da 92 Dream Team fella lol. Nice try though. Go study up fella because when U REACH I TEACH lol
@@PIP...33lol, Bulls was built with MJ as it's backbone, no one expcts them to be a dynasty, players improved their game it was not getting stars like Lebron to win a chip, but lost most of the time😂😂😂
@@zinjgreen3398 FOR SURE WHY HE DIDNT WIN 1995 WITHOUT RODMAN ?? GOT REST 2 YEARS WHILE SHAQ FATIGUED. IF U CANT WIN 1 ONM 1 VS SHAQ U R NOT GREAT. PIPPEN CANCEL PENNY BUT JORDAN LOST TO SHAQ. THEN NEXT YEAR CRY FOR MORE HOF SUPERSTARS 75 MEMBER RODMAN. U CANT BE GREAT WHEN U FORM SUPERTEAM.
@MrJohnnyAOA in 1984 the NBA was looking for the next Kareem Wilt or Walton. These teams passed on MJ as they did not foresee a Shooting Guard dominating the league, which happened in the 90s after he developed his game in the Triangle. Magic had Kareem. Bird had Parish and McHale. Hakeem and Bowie were drafted before MJ because the league was big man dominant. MJ never had a dominant center on his teams, especially when they won 6 of 8years Finals. The NBA had never witnessed that dominance without a dominant big man. And since then, only the GS Warriors have come close. 99-2024. Shaq and the Lakers with Kobe of course. The later years with Kobe featured Bynum and Pau Gasol. Duncan/Robinson and the Spurs. LBJ has never dominated anything except the regular season. 😄 3 rings plus a bubble Finals. What a joke.
Chicago had to build a team around Jordan before they began winning, and became a dynasty, but I still have no issues with The Dream (a 7 foot physically gifted freak of nature) going first. In '86 Houston stunned everyone against L.A. to make it to the finals. Unfortunately, the Celtics that year were one of the top teams to ever play, with 5 players in their lineup who were future Hall of Famers, and they had the numbers in quality big men to rotate fresh players to negate the Twin Towers. Even though Jordan scored at will in their series with Boston, the Celtics still swept them with a much better team. Having said that, The Dream was the only player I would have picked over Jordan in the draft.
Even if you didn’t need another guard, just think how many points per game Portland would have scored with Jordan and Drexler on the same team. Bowie even without the injuries was a bit of a reach at the #2 pick. I guess he was the 2nd center that year but it was a big difference between him and Hakeem.
I'm glad 🐐 Michael Jordan was Number 3 pick in the NBA Draft in 1984 because he came to Chicago and WON US 6 NBA Championship Thank you 🐐 Michael Jordan
If I was making the decision for the Rockets, I would still pick Hakeem. They didn't need a guard as bad as they needed a consistent center and Ralph Sampson couldn't stay consistently healthy. If they took Jordan they wouldn't have had a consistent center and wouldn't have made it to that 86 final, definitely still would have won a ring or 2. With Jordan in the Rockets and Hakeem at the Bulls or Portland, neither would become the Jordan and Hakeem we know and love today. The Bulls were the perfect team for Jordan, and the Rockets were the perfect team for Hakeem (but Portland might have been even better tbh).
At the time of the 84 drwfy, Hakeem in alot of people's minds was the clear #1 and Houstons thought of putting him with Sampson was honestly too good to pass up. It's like when San Antonio drafted Duncan even though they had Robinson. Portland having the second pick didn't have a need for a sg since they had all star and H.O.F. Drexler. The only legitimate and place that made sense at the time was Chicago at #3.
Bowie had a 10 year career even with two legs that never fully healed. Imagine if he never had been injured. I think he would have been hall-of-fame. His College highlights are insane.
Who cares honestly why Goat didn't go number 1 it doesn't matter what number you drafted honestly because you still gotta make your own name and all about a player if they want to be great big facts and in the 80's shyt just making it to the NBA was a blessing. Look at all the top 10 draft NBA Players through 80's through 24 and see why the new Era from 2010 to 24 where all the number 1 draft players. Lol basketball not base on your draft spot 😢
The Bulls are the only team that hit the jackpot in the 1984 NBA draft. No disrespect to Hakeen and the other good players. I get chills when I hear "The Chicago Bulls select Michael Jordan." No one knew it at the time the #3 pick was going to shake up the league in ways it had not been shook before. I'm talking about earth shattering consequences that made the Chicago Bulls the team to watch for 12 years. It was bigger than Magic Johnson coming to LA and Larry Bird coming to Boston. Michael Jordan was God in human form. He changed the game and single handedly ushered in the highflying and exciting 1990s jam era which is no doubt the best decade of NBA basketball. The league had to adapt to Michael Jordan. He made every player improve their game in order to keep up with him. MJ had no equal during his career. In fact, the NBA in the 1990s was Michael Jordan followed by everyone else who were simply existing on their teams limited to their mere mortal skills. Magic and Bird saved the NBA and gave fans a good show in the 1980s however the impact MJ had on the league is still being felt to this day. No one talks about who is going to be next Magic or the next Bird because Michael Jordan set the standard for which greatness in the NBA will be measured for years to come. Those who strive to be his successor will always be playing in his shadow.
Actually, you might have been somewhat right some time ago but next larry bird is what people have talked about the last few season with the nuggest and their star.
The real reason is mj wasn't that good even in the college while Lebron is already great in the highschool and called the greatest prospect of all time in nba history.
Because the 80s were built around drafting centers, Sampson 83, olajuwon 84, Ewing 85, daughtery 86, Robinson 87, Ellison 89, olajuwon was the best big man and just won the ncaa title
There was supposedly a trade in place between the Blazers and the Rockets. The trade would've involved Houston giving up Ralph Sampson (who they drafted the year before at #1) in return for Clyde Drexler, Jim Paxon, and the #2 pick. Had that trade been accepted, Houston could've had taken MJ and that would've changed NBA history for sure and made them a basketball powerhouse. But, the Rockets said no and that's what led Sam Bowie to be taken ahead of MJ.
Among the reasons to take this story with a grain of salt: if you intended to draft Jordan, why are you also acquiring not one but two shooting guards (including an All-NBA selection) in the deal?
@@54raynor Perhaps they figured MJ would be a great point guard with Jim Paxon coming off the bench. Now that seems silly and that’s not to say it would’ve worked, but the thing was while people expected MJ to have a great career, no one expected him to take off and arguably the greatest NBA career ever. It’s alright to look back in hindsight because it’s one of those big what ifs that will never be answered. There was an NBA segment that talked about this. You’re right that having two shooting guards as similar as those two were might’ve been a problem. But it’s one of those scenarios that make you wonder how history would’ve changed. Either the Rockets would’ve been the next great dynasty and not the Bulls or they would’ve collapsed and the careers of MJ, Hakeem, and Clyde would never have been what they were.
Clyde Drexler was a great guard, I grew up watching him play. Portland unfortunately has had bad luck with big men for a long time, but I totally understand why they didn't take Jordan. Portland was not a bad team either, they made it to the playoffs every year from 83 to 2003, going to the finals twice in that huge stretch. Often the only thing holding them back was a lack of a proper inside presence.
If portland had drafted jordan, i wonder if mj wouldve won his first ring in the 80s. Clyde & Jordan wouldve been a cool pairing -- playing against mj & mj helping clyde to improve, mightve been special
Other players in the '84 draft-4.Sam Perkins who played in the Finals with the Lakers. 10.Leon Wood a guard who went on to be a long time NBA referee.14.Michael Cage an all time great rebounder. 46.Jerome Kersey selected by Portland. One of the toughest players in history Who matched up well in the Finals against the Pistons and Bulls. All time draft steal. 70. Rick Carlisle who went on to be a long time NBA coach.
People forget that Michael Jordan's North Carolina sophomore and junior teams did not live up to expectations despite being filled with future NBA players. Jordan did not dominate college as a freshman. James Worthy was the star of the North Carolina championship team.
PORTLAND, cursed with stupid general managers. In 1984 Portland picks Sam Bowie INSTEAD of Michael Jordan. THEN in 2007 Portland drafted Greg Oden INSTEAD of Kevin Durant. These GM’s get paid millions to do one job and they fail miserably. What a bunch of losers.
#1 ...... hakeem (c) #2 ...... Bowie (F/C) Back then you take a big if you need them.... Houston Needed a possible replacement for MOSES and PROTLAND had Drexler already and needed a BIG....
Here’s the craziest thing. Before the draft, the Blazers offered the Rockets the 2nd overall pick AND Clyde Drexler for Ralph Sampson. If the Rockets agreed to that trade, they could have drafted both Hakeem and Jordan. Then, they would have had the two best players in the 90s AND Clyde Drexler, another All-NBA player. Talk about a super team. I want to live in that universe.
Portland should have picked Jordan. The Trailblazers would have demolished the league with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Michael Jordan, Buck Williams, Jerome Kersey, Cliff Robinson, Kevin Duckworth!!! It wouldn't have been fair!!!
Olajuwon actually made to NBA finals before Jordan can even sniff at it, Rockets actually took down one of the juggernaut in Lakers before fell to Celtics in 6 games. It was unfortunate that Ralph Sampson has an injury plague career and then Patterson(s) were bad at GM with Charlie Thomas being cheap which almost made Hakeem to leave. Only if Rockets have another superstar next to Olajuwon or Sampson can stay healthy then the NBA history would look so much different.
MJ had the most overrated college career in the history of basketball. The one year Michael won the championship, Worthy was the season ppg leader, the tournament leader, and of course the championship leader. Worthy was the 1st team all american when Jordan didn't even make all conference. Worthy was also the tournament MVP. Jordan hit "the shot" in the championship game and the next possessing Worthy got the steal to seal the game. MJ had 16 pts, James had 28 pts on 76% shooting! Obviously Jordan wasn't even close to Worthy this season. How did NC do after James left for the draft? Next two years NC had the #1 and #2 seed in the tournament with MJ as the man. They got bounced in the sweet 16 and elite 8. Newsflash people, Jordan (comparatively) sucked against the zone which pushed him to the outside. Need another sample size how bad he was against the zone, see the 92 Olympics where he was by far the worst shooting NBA player on the team....against, at the time, International teams that couldn't beat a good YMCA team. One on one, well, that's an entirely different story and that's the main reason he went from a good college player to the, arguably, GOAT. Virtually unstoppable.
Saying all this in hindsight is so easy. But how was Jordan really viewed at the time he was drafted and right before? And both Houston and Portland needed a center (and Portland was already well covered at the guard position, especially with Clyde Drexler). Even so, Sam Bowie was a very risky glass player (gets injured too much) sooooo were there other qualified centers (or perhaps big forwards who could also play center?) Portland could've chose? Remember, there's no crystal balls!
Rockets needed a center; Olajuwon was perfect. Portland already had a great SG (Drexler) and needed a big man. That’s why. It always depend on what you need but I’m sure Portland would’ve traded Drexler and gotten MJ if they knew.
Jordan should have gone second. I actually 100% understand the first pick with hakeem, dude was exactly what they needed and is one of the best players to ever play basketball.. ever. He was literally wihout doubt the best center possible in the era he played, like hands down. They didn't make a mistake. Portland though.. oof.. bro..
He was not #1 because the Rockets needed a big man, and Hakeem was so good that you would have been insane to pass him up. If they had, Hakeem would've went #2 to Portland. He was not #2 because Portland had Clyde Drexler. It's really that simple.
I don't think you can argue with Hakeem going #1, even today. Jordan is the GOAT, but it's not like Olajuwon didn't pan out. Olajuwon is still a top 20 player of all time.
You take a sure thing dominate big man over a sure thing dominate guard/wing even today. Hakeem was the right pick. You DONT take the big man who was a 5th year senior who averaged 10/9/2blk and had missed two full years before that.
Mj wasnt the number 1 pick because bigmen turn fortunes quickly even today. See the impact of a rudy gobert or jared allen who arent even elite compared to the greats and have a huge impact on winning. Bigs carry alot. Jordan also played on loaded college teams which masked his ability a tad.
Problem with Bowie is that he wasn’t even healthy in college. He was never going to last in the NBA. Just cursed with a brittle lower body that simply couldn’t take the pounding of playing basketball.
