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Bulls would have picked Hakeem Olajuwon over Michael Jordan with No. 1 pick

Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Bulls

The 1984 NBA Draft is considered by many to be the greatest draft in league history, mainly because both Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan went in the top three. Olajuwon went to the Houston Rockets at No. 1, and Jordan was taken by the Chicago Bulls at No. 3.

The less said about the Portland Trail Blazers, the better.

But what if the Bulls would have ended up with the top selection? Would they still have selected MJ?

Well, during the premiere of Jordan’s documentary series “The Last Dance” on Sunday night, former Bulls general manager Rod Thorn said he wouldn’t have:

“Olajuwon would have been first by anybody who picked, including me,” said Thorn, via Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

Olajuwon was considered the best prospect in that draft class, and think about it: you don’t really hear anybody faulting the Rockets for taking The Dream over His Airness.

After all, Houston went on to win back-to-back championships with Olajuwon in 1994 and 1995. Of course, Jordan was retired the former year, and he came back late in the season in the Rockets’ latter title run.

However, it should also be noted that the Olajuwon-led Rockets were the only team to have had a winning record against Jordan’s Bulls, so perhaps Houston could have beaten Chicago in either of those years.

While Jordan is the general consensus greatest of all-time, Olajuwon has a legitimate argument for the top five (or better), so you really couldn’t go wrong with either player.

The post Bulls would have picked Hakeem Olajuwon over Michael Jordan with No. 1 pick appeared first on ClutchPoints.

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