BY Joe Becker

The Blazers wound up being the butt of jokes over the 1984 NBA Draft. It's well known that the Blazers, who needed a big man, took Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Bowie was racked with injuries and Jordan went on to become perhaps the greatest player in history. Hakeem Olajuwon was taken number one that year by the Houston Rockets after the Blazers lost a coin flip. The Blazers took Bowie and Jordan went to the Bulls.

One draft that goes unnoticed...but is interesting to think about is the 1978 NBA Draft. The Blazers had the number one pick that year and took Mychal Thompson, who went on to a terrific NBA career. What most people don't realize is the Blazers passed on Larry Bird to take Thompson..as did four other teams. Yes, the Blazers took Thompson over Bird. The Kings, Pacers, Knicks and Warriors also passed on Bird. Actually, Celtics GM Red Auerbach took Bird as a Jr. eligible, so it was kind of a gamble. Bird went on to play his Senior season at Indiana State and the Celtics waited. He was worth the wait. Boston signed Bird and the rest is history.