ESPN’s The Last Dance reopened the conversation of the Portland Trail Blazers and their history with NBA Draft miscues. Aside from Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant, here are five others they missed on.
I’ve never been a betting man, but if I had to wager, chances are, my experience in watching The Last Dance went creepily similar to that of nearly every other Portland Trail Blazers fan.
We likely all watched, mesmerized in learning some of the intricate details of arguably the greatest dynasty of all-time. We probably got our laughs and jeers in at Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause for believing he could go 82-0 without arguably the greatest player to ever do it.
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And then, came the moment they wiped the smile off our faces.
“With the first pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers select, Sam Bowie from the University of Kentucky.”
Three decades can’t erase the pain of that 21-word reciting. Especially when part two of that horror flick came out some 23 years later.
In a vacuum, it’s certainly something to think about. With just a few changes of thought, the Blazers are feasibly sitting on a half-dozen more championships. Games of start, bench, cut are infinitely more entertaining. We probably aren’t on eBay at night trying to buy Nicolas Batum jerseys, either (or is that just me?)
ESPN’s fantastic docuseries reopened the can of worms, in reminding us of the one that got away; the air that seemed through our fingers. And Blazers history remembers Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant in the same realm.
But today, we’ll take a look at five non-Jordan, non-Durant stars the Blazers also whiffed on. Misery loves company, and we’ll have enough to throw a party by the end of this.