@@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.
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
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
@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.
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.
@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.
@@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!
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.
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.
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.
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 😢
I have him Top 10 All Time. By far, my favorite player ever. Aside for Kareem, the best Center ever. That's why even if Houston didn't draft MJ, they're still pretty happy with Hakeem. I wouldn't say the GOAT, but Top 10 All Time at least
don't think so. Jordan, James, Magic, and Kareem are in a tier of their own. Hakeem is with Shaq, Bird, Kobe, and Duncan, and I think he's towards the bottom of those. (throw Wilt and Russel in there if you tryna compare the dinosaur age which is tough). Mad respect for Hakeem though.
Lefraud doesn't belong in the conversation. Just his finals record alone disqualifies him from the conversation. Hakeem's in the top 10, but Kareem and Shaq have the edge on him.
@@champFichtnerBourne FOR SURE DERANGED EXCEPT PRINE MVP JABBAR GOT DEMOLISHED BY OLD INJURED WILT, TELL ME MORE BOUT WAGON KA5REEM. SHALL I CALL JACK SIKMA TO TAKE HIS RING AGAIN ?? IMAGINE LOSING RINGS TO JACK SIKMA NOT EVEN HOF OR 6'7 WES UNSELD SMALLEST CENTER EVER. JABBAR AND JORDAN ARE NOBODIES.
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.
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
@@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.
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
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.
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.
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.
All you lebron james fan try to defend so badly i dont know who in charge of the lakers team anymore and i guess they rather be a circus team than a contender team and try to win a championship anymore. See that bubble championship i put that as ? Ring. So whats up lebron fans to me why is lebron disrespecting the lakers for cause right before he got to the lakers he was in the finals ten times in a row and only two championships one ? Short season. Now please stop calling lebron the goat and talking about mj cant carry a team lets get off whatever drugs you guys are on and come back to reality LeBron not that good he needs help to win championships go get him a good to help. The lakers need to get back to be a contender team again. Why does everybody praise him for. Now i would of told lebron you want you son on the team but do you deserve to have him on the team what have you done for the team since you got here. No when you can at least get the team to the finals than you can get your son on the team until than im going to go get you another player you need help to win a championship
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....
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!!!
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.
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..
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....
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.
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 TH-cam 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.
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.
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 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.
"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!
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.
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.
He wasn't cut from his high school team. The coach didn't play freshman. Jordan was salty because there were some injuries on varsity and his buddy was called up to play as a freshman. Jordan dominated his years on jv... this... video is disingenuous.
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.
Simple... Is being said numerous times, the NBA was obsessed with big men as the go to in draft cause they thought you cannot build around small players. Jordan changed all that.
Houston and Portland both needed a center, the Dream going #1 was a no doubt pick Bowie lying about his injury hurt Portland, but they already had Drexler Barkley would have been the better pick
Whoever made this video must be really young because anybody with a little age on them KNOWS that back then NBA teams were built around Centers. Period end of story. 💯
Because the Rockets weren’t going to say no to Hakeem, a Center in the Prime of the Big Man era. And Portland didn’t need another Shooting Guard. There, just rendered your entire video invalid. Sorry not sorry.
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.
People always looking back on the history to have a better view and more entertain by using the technology which is the internet. Most people nowadays dont have much passion with what their doing if its sports music etc. Mike tyson michael jordan these are from 1990s and yet your viewers are gen z or whatelse gen news!
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
Hakeem was the better prospect at the time. Hakeem might have had a better career than Jordan if he played with better talent, like Jordan, or Bird, or Johnson. Those teams were stacked. Hakeem had to shoulder the load by himself.
Only one team overlooked MJ and that was Portland. The Dream was a valid first choice
If you already had Clyde Drexler, which at the time was a similar player to Jordan, I probably would have gone with Sam Bowie too.
@@seanogrady2629 nah. Some coaches at that time even said they can play them 1-2-3 for MJ and Glide.
@@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.
@@rickbateman2401 hindsight is 20/20
@@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.
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!"
They would be the ones who drafted Sam Bowie.
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
Well that Portland coach is either crazy story maker and delusional or he's just blind that's it come on now.
@@tonyjones7675rite people believe anything matter Jordan didn't dominate college
In the 1980s Big men were the prize draft picks not SGs and nobody knew Jordan would be whar he turned in to
I thought it was funny that you mentioned the Rockets ruining MJ's comeback in '95 when the Bulls didn't make the Finals...
The rockets are ok with there pick he was that good only other team to win a championship in the 1990s other than the bulls
Because the 80s and 90s were about having a dominant Center. Hakeem Olajuwon did not disappoint either.
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
Taking Hakeem over MJ made sense. But Sam Bowie is crazy
It was all about having a dominant center at that time.. and they didn’t think a shooting guard could carry a team
And they also already had Clyde drexler who was seen as one the best young guards in the league
That's BS....Sam Bowie was never dominant and was already injured prone.....
He got better as time went on. He worked on his game and pretty much perfected it
NOPE U MEAN BULLS BECAME SUPERTEAM HE NEVER GOT BETTER HE IS JUST 1 STATY PADDER ALWAYS WAS ALWAYS BEEN.
@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😂😂😂
@@g24deez for sure deranged : BULLS 1997 HAD 5 HOF, KNICKS 97 HAD 1 EWING. U JUST PROVED JORDAN IS NOBODY.
@@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.
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.
The would've beaten chicago...bulls had a losing record against the rocket at the time due to olajuwon
Back in the day the BIG MAN was still preferred to be taken at the top of the Draft
was still the case in the shaq kobe threepeat era too
Still the case in this era, Ayton over Luka@@nomercyinc6783
Real ones know about #131 pick Oscar Schmidt - dude was way before his time!
Jordan started the transition to guards and small forwards controlling games at the time of his draft it was all about the big man.
team's were trying to draft big men back then
@@ricardolozano5356 No shit; did you even read his comment?
The 80s is dominated by Bird, Magic, (Isiah?). Don't know what you talking about when the best players where guards and wings
Jerry West and Larry Bird say otherwise
@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.
Simple. Because he wasn’t 7ft
Exactly Houston and Portland were looking at the Centre/Forward options!
It wasn't a random 7 footer. No one can say Hakeem was a bust or mistake
@@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!
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.
Olajuwon had a great career, and Portland already had Drexler. Bowie was too injured unfortunately.
Olajuwon is literally the best center that existed at the time he played the game. That team needed a center.. they made a good choice on olajuwon!
Named the last Blazers center that wasn't an injury prone. It's Portland curse.
I completely agree with everything you say Duckworth was pretty tough @@taskdon769
MJ shows not really that important get drafted at 1 but the will to win must always at number 1
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.
Jordan have changed the game...its bc of him why now SGs are more respected during draft
04:53 Sam Bowie had a face like a generic character in 2K Career mode
Oscar issue with NBA wasn't money at all. He just wants to play for the brazilian national team, and the league couldn't guarantee this for him.
Now I know why I didn’t make the NBA as a 5’7” stud coming of age as a peer of these great players
Mystery solved! LOL
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
Ly-goss?, Houston University?, beating Chicago in the NBA finals?, Sam Boh-wie? 🤔
Dang. Felt bad about bowie now. A career never realized due to injuries and then ridiculed for being drafted before mj.
Not as bad as Darko
He was #1 hs player in 79. That would put him ahead of a couple “50 greatest at 50” stars
your left tibia breaks twice and right tibia once. That's gotta be the worst luck ever
@ClearinghouseLogin he was in poor health when he was drafted. It's not bad luck, it was basically inevitable.
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.
Flu = hungover from gambling all night 😂
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.
I always make this trade in 2K. Akeem and MJ together is absolutely disgusting
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.
Sam Perkins at 4 had a nice career
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.
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 😢
Thatd why lebron is better #1 piiick
His development was the greatest. He made himself the best.
because of the hype? lol bird and magic are not centers and yet they are the hype of nba before JORDAN
Realistically, huston deserves 0 blame for selecting hakeem. It was a natural choice and worked perfectly.
To be fair, Hakeem deserves to be in the goat debate
I have him Top 10 All Time. By far, my favorite player ever. Aside for Kareem, the best Center ever. That's why even if Houston didn't draft MJ, they're still pretty happy with Hakeem. I wouldn't say the GOAT, but Top 10 All Time at least
don't think so. Jordan, James, Magic, and Kareem are in a tier of their own. Hakeem is with Shaq, Bird, Kobe, and Duncan, and I think he's towards the bottom of those. (throw Wilt and Russel in there if you tryna compare the dinosaur age which is tough). Mad respect for Hakeem though.
@@karuscuvic He does have a case to be up there. So do do the others.
Lefraud doesn't belong in the conversation. Just his finals record alone disqualifies him from the conversation. Hakeem's in the top 10, but Kareem and Shaq have the edge on him.
@@champFichtnerBourne FOR SURE DERANGED EXCEPT PRINE MVP JABBAR GOT DEMOLISHED BY OLD INJURED WILT, TELL ME MORE BOUT WAGON KA5REEM. SHALL I CALL JACK SIKMA TO TAKE HIS RING AGAIN ?? IMAGINE LOSING RINGS TO JACK SIKMA NOT EVEN HOF OR 6'7 WES UNSELD SMALLEST CENTER EVER. JABBAR AND JORDAN ARE NOBODIES.
stop making excuses mj is not yet great in the college still unlike lebron in highschool.
Clown video Jokes herong anything you said Michael Air Jordan?
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.
@@Folsomdsf2MJ is worth billions of dollars who cares get a life
Lebron james Nu 1 is not NBA
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
The Dream to Houston was a no brainer. I am happy he finally won a championship there.
8:48 Barkley led the dream team in scoring
I would still take Hakeem at 1. He impacted the game on defense like no other.
Still? As in knowing what both would do? Sure buddy
@@markula_4040 IKR? 2 rings are better than 6 LMAO
@@markula_4040There is a chance Jordan doesn't do what he did without being on the Bulls with all those other great players.
@@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.
@@emersonssbbthat’s on hindsight . We dunno mj will become who he gone on to be
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
Portland still have nightmares from this draft.
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.
And for being not drafted number one He took it personal throughout his entire career .
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.
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.
If memory serves that top teams needed centers!!!!
All you lebron james fan try to defend so badly i dont know who in charge of the lakers team anymore and i guess they rather be a circus team than a contender team and try to win a championship anymore. See that bubble championship i put that as ? Ring. So whats up lebron fans to me why is lebron disrespecting the lakers for cause right before he got to the lakers he was in the finals ten times in a row and only two championships one ? Short season. Now please stop calling lebron the goat and talking about mj cant carry a team lets get off whatever drugs you guys are on and come back to reality LeBron not that good he needs help to win championships go get him a good to help. The lakers need to get back to be a contender team again. Why does everybody praise him for. Now i would of told lebron you want you son on the team but do you deserve to have him on the team what have you done for the team since you got here. No when you can at least get the team to the finals than you can get your son on the team until than im going to go get you another player you need help to win a championship
Bulls nations
Bowie neglected his milk when he was growin up 😅
#Mike it was “personal” with me too!
I personally watched you from NC to the Wizards and it was a glorious ride!
✨#TheGOAT✨
Fake😂🤡👎👎
Stockton had almost 16,000 assists and he came off the bench for 3 years? Holy hell 😅
Back then the philosophy of many people was that you could not win without a strong center. Most teams would pick the best centers available first.
back then teams were trying to draft center's to build around
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....
Not #1 is "understandable". I'm sure no one in Houston regrets drafting hakeem.
Not #2 tho?? Portland, you have some serious explaining to do!
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!!!
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.
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..
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....
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.
The Mavs fumbled the oppurtunity to draft Charles Barkley when then have the Cavs pick,instead,they burn the pick to draft Sam Perkins
Houston made a fine choice with number one.
Portland made a TERRIBLE choice with number two.
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 TH-cam 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.
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.
Sam Bowie missed 2 entire seasons in college......he was injured prone.....Portland messed up with that pick point blank period
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 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.
"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!
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.
He didnt beat MJ in 95! WTF! Bulls didnt make it to the finals when MJ was playing baseball! He beat the Knicks & Shaq's Orlando Magic team!
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.
He wasn't cut from his high school team. The coach didn't play freshman. Jordan was salty because there were some injuries on varsity and his buddy was called up to play as a freshman. Jordan dominated his years on jv... this... video is disingenuous.
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.
Simple... Is being said numerous times, the NBA was obsessed with big men as the go to in draft cause they thought you cannot build around small players. Jordan changed all that.
Houston and Portland both needed a center, the Dream going #1 was a no doubt pick
Bowie lying about his injury hurt Portland, but they already had Drexler
Barkley would have been the better pick
Whoever made this video must be really young because anybody with a little age on them KNOWS that back then NBA teams were built around Centers. Period end of story. 💯
Because the Rockets weren’t going to say no to Hakeem, a Center in the Prime of the Big Man era. And Portland didn’t need another Shooting Guard. There, just rendered your entire video invalid. Sorry not sorry.
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.
People always looking back on the history to have a better view and more entertain by using the technology which is the internet. Most people nowadays dont have much passion with what their doing if its sports music etc. Mike tyson michael jordan these are from 1990s and yet your viewers are gen z or whatelse gen news!
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.
Most talented in the history of the game... coming out of college he was a good player... but it wasn't like he was beyond comparison...
Hakeem is still a valid 1st overall pick. If Jordan didn’t play baseball Hakeem’s rockets would have had the edge against the Bulls imo
Lebron is amazing and definitely on top 3 players of all time.. however Jordan is on a higher level, not too higher but definitely higher..
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
Hakeem was the better prospect at the time. Hakeem might have had a better career than Jordan if he played with better talent, like Jordan, or Bird, or Johnson. Those teams were stacked. Hakeem had to shoulder the load by himself.
Simple: he didn't go #1 OA is because Olajuwon was, and is, a better player. Portland messed up though.