The man picked ahead of Michael Jordan: Sam Bowie was the biggest NBA draft mistake of ALL TIME on this day in 1984 and his injury-plagued career dwindled to an end while the Chicago Bulls legend rewrote basketball history
- It was June 19 in 1984 when the NBA held their annual draft for the rookies
- Hakeem Olajuwon was selected by the Houston Rockets as the No 1 prospect
- Portland Trail Blazers then stunned the league by taking Sam Bowie at No 2
- Michael Jordan went at No 3 and their careers took very different trajectories
It remains one of the most iconic few minutes off the court in NBA history.
'With the second overall pick, Portland selects Sam Bowie of the University of Kentucky,' read NBA commissioner David Stern.
There was some clapping, some jeers and some in complete bewilderment as Michael Jordan remained seated, waiting to be drafted. Looking back, 36 years to the day of that 1984 NBA Draft, Bowie's No 2 pick still remains one of the biggest blunders in league history.
Sam Bowie (left) was famously drafted ahead of Michael Jordan (right) by Portland in 1984
There was a mix of cheers and total surprise when Bowie was announced as the No 2 pick
It was to be the only time Bowie got the better of Jordan.
The moment they stepped into the league, there was to be no competition and Portland's decision to overlook Jordan, a player they felt would be surplus to requirements given they already had Clyde Drexler in the same position, looked even more mystifying.
Hakeem 'The Dream' Olajuwon was unanimously viewed as the No 1 pick and so it proved, the Houston Rockets taking the University of Houston star. He was, without doubt, the player every team would have taken if they had had the chance.
What made Bowie's selection even more striking in retrospect is that the 7ft 1 center lied his way through his medical examination with the Portland Trail Blazers.
In ESPN's enlightening documentary, Going Big, Bowie touched on his pre-draft examination by Portland team doctors.
'I can still remember them taking a little mallet, and when they would hit me on my left tibia, "I don't feel anything," I would tell them,' Bowie, now 59, said.
'But deep down inside, it was hurting. If what I did was lying, if what I did was wrong, at the end of the day when you have loved ones that have some needs, I did what any of us would've done.'
In fairness to Bowie, he was a national star in high school given he was already then 7ft tall and colleges were desperately doing what they could to convince him to join.
While Jordan was a brilliant college player, his greatness came later.
Hakeem Olajuwon (left) was the No 1 pick and was the player every team was keen to get
Eventually Bowie went to play for Kentucky Wildcats at the University of Kentucky.
But the early excitement, the headlines and praise soon took a backseat as injuries frequently affected his huge frame. Bowie may not have known it then but it was a sign of things to come.
He had a stress fracture to his tibia in his sophomore year while jumping for a photo shoot and ended up missing two seasons. He played in his final year and finished a four-year college career having played just 96 games. Nonetheless, he was in the draft.
A draft works one of two ways. A team either selects the best player available and still left on the draft board when they make their pick or they go for a strategy and try to fill a problem position in the team.
In 1984, the Blazers needed a center and felt having drafted Clyde Drexler the year prior, Jordan would only end up surplus to requirements were they to pick him. Hindsight is an incredible thing but it remains one of the most unbelievable missed opportunities from any NBA team.
As Bowie's career was plagued by injury, Jordan went on to win championships in Chicago
Bowie's NBA career saw him at Portland (left), New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Lakers (right)
Bowie did well enough to make the NBA's All-Rookie team that season but it all came down like a house of cards soon after.
His 12-year NBA career, which took him from Portland to New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, with 511 appearances. He averaged 10.9 points a game for his career. While Jordan was winning championships - he finished with six in Chicago - and was claiming MVP awards among other accolades, Bowie never made an All-Star team or came close to a championship ring.
'I have one huge regret,' Bowie said in 2018. 'I wish I would've been more patient and didn't come back as quickly as I did the second year I fractured my leg. You feel like you disappointed Portland.
'You're getting paid a lot of money and you can't play. I don't know if it's guilt or regret. But I've never been one to say, "Why me?".'
His career on the court never propelled him to the level of fame that Jordan or Olajuwon now enjoy. No, Bowie, now a resident in Lexington, Kentucky, goes about his quiet life and puts his energy into harness horse racing, rather than basketball.
Speaking in 2018, Bowie told Lebanon Sports Buzz: 'I'm real flexible. I don't have a concrete job. I've had opportunities, but I've been kind of content not committing to those positions. It's nice to do as you please.'
These days Bowie puts his energy into owning horses for harness racing and he is successful
Jordan meanwhile is an NBA owner with Charlotte Hornets and is valued at around $2billion
The way the sport works is that horses race and pull a light-two wheeled contraption - known as a sulky or a spider - which features a 'driver' or jockey.
It is similar in a way to Jordan becoming owner of NBA team Charlotte Hornets. But instead of owning a franchise and players, Bowie owns and trains horses for competition.
And Bowie is successful, too. Before He Cheats, one of his prize horses, has gone on to win more than $300,000 in prize money at events.
The former No 2 draft pick is fiercely private, has no presence on social media like other former ex-professional athletes and does very few interviews as he enjoys a life many of his former fans know.
He does public speaking on occasion, throws himself into work with horses but is unlikely to ever shake the tag of being the man picked ahead of Jordan.
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