ON THIS (BAD) DAY IN HISTORY...
From my new book, More Bad Days in History
JUNE 19, 1984
A Nose Would Have Been a Better Pick
On June 19, 1984, NBA commissioner David Stern announced what is widely considered professional basketball’s biggest recruiting blunder: The Portland Trail Blazers picked the University of Kentucky’s Sam Bowie in the second round—notwithstanding a stress fracture in his left leg, which had forced the seven-foot-one player to sit out several college
seasons.
Bowie’s bad leg only worsened once he joined the Blazers, compounded by additional fractures and other osteo ailments that left the once golden prospect warming the bench—and his team managers boiling over with regret. Perhaps they were thinking of the future legend they had declined in selecting Bowie: Michael Jordan.
JUNE 19, 1984
A Nose Would Have Been a Better Pick
On June 19, 1984, NBA commissioner David Stern announced what is widely considered professional basketball’s biggest recruiting blunder: The Portland Trail Blazers picked the University of Kentucky’s Sam Bowie in the second round—notwithstanding a stress fracture in his left leg, which had forced the seven-foot-one player to sit out several college
seasons.
Bowie’s bad leg only worsened once he joined the Blazers, compounded by additional fractures and other osteo ailments that left the once golden prospect warming the bench—and his team managers boiling over with regret. Perhaps they were thinking of the future legend they had declined in selecting Bowie: Michael Jordan.
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