Published 13:10 IST, April 20th 2020
Michael Jordan was not Bulls fans' first choice heading into 1984 NBA draft: Keith Brown
Michael Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls as the No. 3 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Keith Brown reveals the story of how Jordan was recruited by the Bulls.
Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan enjoyed a legendary career in the NBA. The first two episodes of his latest documentary, The Last Dance, premiered on Sunday and gave fans an inside look at some of the key moments in his NBA career. While winning two three-peats with Chicago Bulls is a legendary feat by itself, it could have been entirely different had he been overlooked in the draft by Chicago Bulls in 1984.
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Michael Jordan NBA draft revelation
The Last Dance takes an in-depth look at the 1984 NBA Draft which kickstarted Michael Jordan's career and changed the life of a 23-year-old Bulls sales rep - Keith Brown. Bulls Vice-President of Ticketing, Keith Brown, is set to retire at the end of the campaign. However, the documentary saw Brown recalling the events of the 1984 draft which he branded as his 'Forrest Gump moment'. Michael Jordan was drafted at No. 3 in the 1984 NBA Draft.
"Rod (Rod Thorn - Bulls GM at the time) had given him our selections and Jon (managing partner Jonathan Kovler) told me we're going to take Michael Jordan from North Carolina," said Brown. "I filled out the paperwork for the league and gave it to a runner who took it to David Stern at the podium. He announced the Chicago Bulls pick and the rest, as they say, is history," he added.
Despite being just 23 at the time of the draft, Keith Brown represented Bulls at the event and revealed that he was constantly in touch with Thorn and Kovler - who informed Brown of their choices.
Delving into the details of the 1984 Draft, Brown revealed that Michael Jordan was never the fans' top pick heading into the draft. While Hakeem Olajuwon - the No. 1 pick - had much of the fanfare, most people wanted the Bulls to pick Sam Perkins (fourth pick) or Mel Turpin (sixth pick) over Jordan.
"At the time, it was a center dominated league. What we heard every single day in the office from season ticket holders and fans: ‘You've got to get a center.' There were a lot of people at the time who wanted Sam Perkins or Mel Turpin. There was never anyone in the Bulls organisation lobbying for anyone but Jordan. But certainly, outside the organisation they wanted us to draft a center," Brown said.
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Michael Jordan NBA draft: How the No. 1 and No. 2 picks fared
The documentary even has Rod Thorn admitting that he would have picked Hakeem Olajuwon over Michael Jordan if the Bulls had the No. 1 pick. However, Olajuwon was drafted by Houston Rockets and Jordan and the Bulls established a dynasty in the NBA. Olajuwon is himself a two-time NBA champion, which he won during Michael Jordan's first retirement from the NBA in 1994 and 1995. Even the Portland Trail Blazers, who has the second pick in the draft passed up on Jordan in favour of Sam Bowie. Unlike Olajuwon, Bowie couldn't lead the Blazers to an NBA championship.
As for Jordan, winning six NBA championships, six NBA Finals MVP awards and being named as the NBA MVP five times means he is widely regarded as the greatest player in NBA history.
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Updated 13:10 IST, April 20th 2020