One Lie to the Doctor That Could've Redefined Michael Jordan and the NBA's History Completely - EssentiallySportsAmerica's Favorites Trending in U.S.A.

One Lie to the Doctor That Could ve Redefined Michael Jordan and the NBA s History Completely

Published 07/20/2022, 7:45 AM EDTBy Basketball: Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan (23) in action vs New Jersey Nets Sam Bowie (31) at Brendan Byrne Arena. East Rutherford, NJ 12/20/1991 CREDIT: Neil Leifer (Photo by Neil Leifer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: D90103 ) Michael Jordan was selected as the third overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 NBA Draft. Many fans were surprised that he wasn’t selected as the second pick behind Hakeem Olajuwon. Instead, Sam Bowie was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers. Bowie revealed long ago that he lied about his injuries to get a higher place in the draft. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad He told ESPNU, “I can still remember them taking a little mallet, and when they would hit me on my left tibia, and ‘I don’t feel anything,’ I would tell ’em. But deep down inside, it was hurting.” He added that he knew he was lying and was wrong to do so, but said he did it for his loved ones and mentioned that anyone would likely do the same in his place. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad During his college years in Kentucky, he missed two seasons of basketball because of shin injuries. Bowie dealt with other leg injuries as well. He 17.4 points per game as a sophomore in 1980-81 but his performances dipped after that. In 1983-84, he averaged 10.5 points as a fifth-year senior. The needed a big man though as Bill Walton was close to retirement due to injuries. Hakeem Olajuwon was selected as the first overall pick by the Houston Rockets. Hence, they selected . This happened despite Jordan being the best player for North Carolina.

Trail Blazers were unlucky not to select Michael Jordan

It is mental to think about how Jordan was ignored by the Trail Blazers but the got the benefit of it. They won two three-peats with him being the best player in the world. His could probably fill up two trophy shelves. He has won six Finals MVPs and five regular season MVPs. Jordan is also a 10-time scoring champion and a 14-time All-Star. He has been inducted into the All-NBA Team 11 times in his career. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad His defense was also considered to be elite and therefore, he won a Defensive Player of the Year award and has been inducted nine times into the All-Defense teams. More than that, seeing play was a thing of beauty. If it were not for Sam Bowie, the Portland Trail Blazers could have been six-time champions now. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Watch This Story: What did you think about Portland’s pick? Comment your thoughts below.

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ADVERTISEMENT Aditya Kar 381 articlesAditya Kar is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. A holder of Bachelors and Masters degrees in History, he has been a fan of the NBA since 2011. He has a very keen interest in the stories that define the league and the sport.Please enable JavaScript to view the ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT

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