'The Last Dance': Fans weigh in on Portland's Sam Bowie pick over Michael Jordan, call it 'worst decision ever'
Sam Bowie was the man who made headlines for being picked ahead of Michael Jordan. And Chicago Bulls fans dubbed it "Worst NBA draft decision ever." Bowie was one of the key points in ESPN's 'The Last Dance', a 10-part docuseries that details Michael Jordan and the Bulls' 1997-98 season.
The Portland Trail Blazers will always be "that" team that drafted Sam Bowie ahead of Michael Jordan. Ahead of the '84 draft, the Trail Blazers felt they needed a player to fill in the major hole Bill Walton had left after he joined the Clippers. They had also chosen Clyde Drexler in the previous draft, meaning Jordan was looked at as an excessive addition. So when Houston Rockets won a coin toss, it gave them the right to select Hakeen Olajuwon and the Blazers ended up picking Bowie.
Fan reactions on Twitter for Bowie were bordering between mean and sarcasm. "Who takes Sam Bowie ahead of MJ?" was one of the tweets. "Watching #TheLastDance with a Kentucky fan means we are on pause because he’s still giving an impassioned if redundant speech about Sam Bowie’s knees," said another.
"Portland drafting Sam Bowie was the ultimate hipster pick. Real on point with the city," tweeted a fan.
"Sam Bowie was really picked over Jordan that’s mad lmaoooooo," read one of the tweets.
Here's one by a fan who's catching the updates on Twitter. "I'm watching #TheLastDance later (probably tomorrow), but twitter tells me we're at the Sam Bowie portion of the story. My sister was obsessed with him (in relation to Jordan/the draft) and I know at one time she had an autographed photo of him." And this one's mostly by a local journo who's covered the game—"I covered ACC basketball in 83-84 and I said at the time, the Blazers taking Sam Bowie over Jordan was a big mistake. The Bulls certainly benefited from it."
How's this for an analogy by a fan? "Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Worst NBA draft decision ever. Is the NHL equivalent of this Daigle over Pronger, or is there a better hockey analogy?"
"I’ve done some stupid things but never have I picked Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan," read a tweet. To end with: "Imagine being the franchise that will never get rid of the stain of drafting Sam Bowie," opined a fan.