who was drafted before michael jordan in the nba draft
Akeem Olajuwon Sam Bowie
title: Draft (sports) text: over 5 points per game before retiring as arguably the biggest NBA draft bust ever. Other NBA draft busts include Sam Bowie (1984, who had a modestly productive though injury-prone career, but is particularly infamous for having been drafted one spot ahead of Michael Jordan), Ed O'Bannon (1995), Michael Olowokandi (1998), Kwame Brown (2001), Darko Miličić (2003), Adam Morrison (2006), Greg Oden (2007), Hasheem Thabeet (2009), Anthony Bennett (2013), and Markelle Fultz (2017). Notable MLB draft busts include Steve Chilcott (1966) and Brien Taylor (1991), two 1st overall draft picks who never reached the majors, as well as Matt Bush title: Portland Trail Blazers text: (after Walton). In the next year's draft, the Trail Blazers landed the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft. After the Houston Rockets selected Drexler's college teammate Akeem Olajuwon at No. 1, the Trail Blazers selected Kentucky center Sam Bowie. Drafting third, the Chicago Bulls selected Michael Jordan. The selection of the injury-plagued Bowie over Jordan has been criticized as one of the worst draft picks in the history of American professional sports. That summer, the Blazers also made a controversial trade, sending Lever, Cooper, and Natt to the Denver Nuggets for high-scoring forward Kiki Vandeweghe. In the 1985 draft, title: Indiana Pacers text: with little impact, and was out of the league altogether a year later. In 1983–84, the Pacers finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, which would have given the Pacers the second overall pick in the draft—the pick that the Blazers used to select Sam Bowie while Michael Jordan was still available. As a result of the Owens trade, they were left as bystanders in the midst of one of the deepest drafts in NBA history—including such future stars as Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Sam Perkins, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton. Clark Kellogg was drafted by the Pacers in title: Michael Jordan text: overall pick, after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center. However, Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center, but more a matter of taking Sam Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan. ESPN, citing Bowie's injury-laden college career, named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North title: Len Bias text: Michael Jordan to come out in a long time. I'm not saying he's as good as Michael Jordan, but he's an explosive and exciting kind of player like that." Jordan was then in his second professional season with the Chicago Bulls. On Tuesday, June 17, Bias was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, which was held in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Red Auerbach, the Celtics' president and general manager, had previously dealt guard Gerald Henderson and cash to the Seattle SuperSonics for the pick in 1984. After the