assisted by Larry Brown. The 1980 US team was the youngest American national team ever assembled. Alongside Bowie were team members Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Michael Brooks, Bill Hanzlik, Alton Lister, Rodney McCray, Isiah Thomas, Darnell Valentine, Danny Vranes, Buck Williams and Al Wood. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and 66 other countries to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Unable to compete in the Olympics due to the boycott, Team USA played a series of games against NBA all-star teams in various US cities, ending with a 5–1 record. The games were labeled the "Gold Medal Series". In the six games against NBA All-Stars, Bowie was Team USA's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder and shot-blocker, averaging 11.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks. Bowie was 19 years old while playing on Team USA. Many years later, he received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes. NBA career 1984 NBA draft Entering the 1984 NBA draft, although the Houston Rockets had tied with the Indiana Pacers for the NBA's worst record, the Pacers had traded the top pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1981 for center Tom Owens. In 1984, having beat the Blazers in a coin toss for first pick, the Rockets chose Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon. Unable to choose him, yet still seeking a center, the Blazers chose Bowie. Choosing third, the Chicago Bulls then drafted North Carolina shooting guard Michael Jordan. At the time, picking Bowie made sense from the Blazers' perspective. The team had not had a solid big man since Bill Walton, one of its first major stars, left in 1979. Soon before the draft, the NBA fined the Blazers $250,000 (equivalent of $,000 in ) for improper contact with Olajuwon and center Patrick Ewing. A year earlier, Portland had drafted a shooting guard, Olajuwon's college teammate Clyde Drexler. Having both Drexler and Jim Paxson, the Blazers had little need on paper for another shooting guard. Still, in 2005, highlighting Bowie's injury-laden college career, ESPN named the Blazers' choice the worst draft pick in the history of North American professional sports. Also that year, arguing that teams should draft for talent and not need, Sports Illustrated named Bowie the biggest draft bust in NBA history. Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1989) During his rookie season, Bowie played in 76 games and averaged 10 points and 8.6