When you hear the name Michael Jordan, the first thing that pops into your mind is the Chicago Bulls logo. Then the colors are red, black, and white. Jordan personified that franchise like no one else in Bulls history. He brought the franchise six titles, and that too, two three-peats, the most prestigious achievement in all of sports history.
Most people would be stunned to know that Jordan wasn’t selected with the first overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft, but rather with Hakeem Olajuwon. They might question the pick and even say the Houston Rockets sold the draft but in all honesty, the Houston Rockets have never once regretted picking Olajuwon over Jordan. Olajuwon is a two-time champion, MVP, and DPOY, and is even in the running for the top five players of all time.
Michael Jordan would’ve been a Rocket had Portland won the lottery
The year is 1984. The Portland Trail Blazers finished with a decent record and held the rights to the Indiana Pacers pick. The Pacers had the worst record out east and therefore the Blazers lept into the lottery. Out west, the worst team was the Houston Rockets, who finished the season with a meager 29 wins led by Elvin Hayes and the recent first-overall pick, Ralph Sampson.
It’s crazy to think Houston passed up on Michael Jordan when they drafted Hakeem Olajuwon and it was a GREAT pick
What an iconic draft class in 1984. Olajuwon, Jordan, Barkley, and Stockton, 4 of the greatest players of all time drafted in the top 16 of the NBA Draft pic.twitter.com/KEqW4tBkMJ
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) June 3, 2023
From 1966 to 1984, the first overall pick in the draft was awarded to the team that won a coin flip, with the two teams participating in the coin flip being the respective lowest record-holding teams in each conference. So in the case of the 84′ season, that would be the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers. However, due to the trade rights, the pick fell to the Blazers.
Well, we all know how history proceeded, the Houston Rockets won the coin flip and selected the consensus first-overall pick Hakeem Olajuwon. In the ’80s and ’90s, big men were strongly prioritized over guards, so a 7-foot-tall, strong 21-year-old with sublime post moves out of the University of Houston was always going to be selected first overall by the Rockets.
However, if the Trail Blazers had won the coin flip, they too would have selected Olajuwon without a moment’s doubt due to their desperate need for a big defensive-minded center.
The original second-overall pick was Sam Bowie, who turned out to be one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. However, in this mock scenario, the Rockets would have most likely taken Jordan, as they had just drafted 7’4″ Ralph Sampson a year ago.
Jordan would have joined a team much better than the one he initially joined with the Bulls and probably would have seen postseason success earlier. There are too many variables to say exactly how his career might have gone, but at the end of the day, both Rockets and Bulls fans can be content with how their front offices performed on that fateful draft night in 84′.