It’s been 37 years since the draft that brought us arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
Now that we know more about each of these players, the top five of the 1984 draft is being reordered.
There is a very clear top two in this draft. The real question is: who will round out the top five of the redraft?
Pick 1: Michael Jordan, Houston Rockets (originally Hakeem Olajuwon)
In perhaps any other draft year Hakeem Olajuwon would have remained at Pick 1 and it would have been well deserved. However, when you have Michael Jordan in the draft, it pushes nearly everyone off the top. Jordan, a six-time NBA champion, six-time finals MVP and five-time MVP, is considered one of the greatest of all time, and why wouldn’t you be considered one of the greatest with a resume like that? Imagine Jordan playing alongside Robert Horry and Clyde Drexler with the Rockets in the late 1990s.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Pick 2: Hakeem Olajuwon, Portland Trailblazers (originally Sam Bowie)
Hakeem Olajuwon would have remained in the top spot if not for Michael Jordan being in the same draft. Hakeem is a two-time NBA champion, two-time NBA finals MVP and six-time All-NBA first team. He and Clyde Drexler won a championship together in Houston in 1995. Would they have brought a championship home together in Portland in the early 1990s? It’s very plausible that they would have.
Pick 3: Charles Barkley, Chicago Bulls (originally Michael Jordan)
The three-club power/small forward was a very strong player in his time, forging a career across the 76ers, Suns and Rockets between 1984 and 2000. Across his time he was crowned as the MVP in 1993, was an 11-time All-Star and finished in the All-NBA first team five times. On pure ability the Bulls would select Barkley with the third pick given MJ is off the board.
Pick 4: John Stockton, Dallas Mavericks (originally Sam Perkins)
The Utah Jazz point guard was an impressive player in a career spanning 19 years and is a rare one-club player in the NBA game. It is incredibly rare to see players staying with the one team for their entire career. His longevity strengthened his legacy on the game, having missed only 22 games across the 19 years he played. Stockton played in ten All-Star games and led the league in assists for nine years. He would have been a strong acquisition for the Mavs at Pick 4.
Pick 5: Alvin Robertson, Philadelphia 76ers (originally Charles Barkley)
With their man Charles Barkley off the board, the 76ers have to take the fifth-best player. That player is shooting guard Alvin Robertson. Robertson played for the Spurs, Bucks, Pistons and Raptors. Despite his off-court legal troubles, he’s still in the top five of this draft class, having played in four All-Star games, being NBA defensive player of the year, and the most improved player of 1986.
Honourable mentions
Otis Thorpe – originally No. 9 to Kansas City Kings.
Kevin Willis – originally No. 11 to Atlanta Hawks.
Sam Perkins – originally No. 4 to Dallas Mavericks.
Oscar Schmidt – originally No. 131 to New Jersey Nets.
What do you think, Roarers? Do you agree with the top 5 redraft, or would you have a different order? Stay tuned for the 1985 redraft.
Conor
Roar Guru
1985 also brought 4 Hall of Famers in their draft class
Swamprat73
Guest
Its still hard to knock Houston for taking Akeem. While MJ was my idol and is the GOAT, Olajuwon is also one of the greatest players of all time and was revolutionary at centre. He also won two titles and his teams were always near the top. Who knows - if situations were switched and the coach's and team mates are different maybe MJ doesn't become the MJ we know or Akeem wins six titles in Portland (pretty good team with him added to it). For what it's worth, Alvin Robertson, Sam Perkins and Otis Thorpe all were losing players early in their careers. Perkins became a great 5th banana or bench player late but was lazy and soft in the initial years and the other two players were known to be largely selfish stat hunters who lead the worst teams in the nba. Willis was a very limited role player who found himself in an ideal role. Jerome Kersey is probably the next best credentialed in this draft if you don't include Rick Carlisle
cruyff turn
Roar Rookie
With hinsight, anyone would take Michael Jordan as first pick. Yet, Houston did acquire Olajawon, arguably the best centre of his generation, and focal point of their two championships of the mid-90s. It's Portland, who picked Sam Bowie (who?) at number 2, that would have had sleepless nights many years after. Though again, it needs some context. Portland at that time needed a big man to complement a young Clyde Drexler, and it was felt the best centre in the draft - aside from Hakeem - was Sam Bowie. So I can understand what the Trailblazers were trying to do. The other thing to note is that MJ at the Houston Rockets doesn't quite have the same pull as MJ at the Bulls. With the greatest of respect to Houston, he was built for a big city/market - a New York, a Chicago, an LA, a Boston. It was just written in the stars!
Mark
Guest
A point I forgot to make above but is of interest - the Celtics themselves drafted 3 Hall of Famers in the 1956 draft, plus Sam Jones in the 1957 draft. 4 Hall of Famers in 12 months, to add to existing players Cousy and Ramsey who also went to the Hall. No wonder they won 11 of 13 titles from 1956-69.
Mark
Guest
The 1984 draft actually had 5 Hall of Famers - the 5th was Oscar from Brazil, who was drafted but never played in the NBA, but made it to the Hall of Fame because of his non-NBA exploits. The 1956 draft also had 4 Hall of Famers - Russell, Heinsohn, KC Jones and Elgin Baylor, although Baylor didn't play under his original drafting (with the Lakers) but was drafted again by them 2 years later.
max power
Guest
the rockets would never have traded for Clyde if they had MJ in the 90s
JGK
Roar Guru
Is 4 Hall of Famers a record for a draft class? Would the Bulls have taken Charles - they still needed a guard didn’t they?
plxmn
Roar Rookie
I took a quick look around because these kind of lists are pretty common and I was curious to see what others thought of number 5, given the first 4 are pretty obvious. The Bleacher Report, Fadeaway World, Air-Ball, HoopsHype and JMoneySports all had the same top 4, in the same order. They split on number 5, with most going for Alvin Robertson but there was one vote each for Sam Perkins and Kevin Willis. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2889684-re-drafting-michael-jordan-hakeem-olajuwon-and-the-1984-nba-draft https://fadeawayworld.net/nba/re-drafting-the-legendary-1984-nba-draft-class https://air-ball.com/2020/05/05/re-drafting-the-1984-nba-draft/ https://hoopshype.com/2020/04/26/1984-nba-re-draft-the-way-it-should-have-been/#slideIdslide-4 https://jmoneysports.com/2014/04/27/1984-nba-re-draft-picks-5-1/