We can all agree we want bill doing more of these types of videos right?

It's amazing that Hakeem being picked #1 isn't considered a bad pick or a pick you'd do differently. That's probably Olajuwon's greatest feat.

“Looks like he’s getting blown under the table” -Perfect Bill, Perfect

These are great Bill. You always joke about your fingers not working anymore but these are the new columns anyway. Keep making these because they are gold

ABSOLUTE GOLD @ 5:08 - Knight’s response to Portland saying they can’t pick MJ bc they need a Center: “WELL - play him at Center then!”

For as much we clown on Bill, no one in any sport makes this type of content. This incredibly in-depth breakdown of famous drafts and moments in basketball history. The way it’s mixed with interviews and conversations from people as well as theories and what ifs, it’s great. I wish somebody would do this for football. Not Bill Simmons though. Ive never liked his football takes.

Between MJ, Stockton, A. Robertson, & Hakeem; this draft also produced the greatest pickpockets in NBA history. Barkley was no slouch at steals for his position as well.

I really thought the Trailblazers were just unlucky. Turns out they were just plain stupid. Did not know about Bobby Knight begging their GM to take MJ.

That part about Philly offering Dr J to get MJ must have something to do with Dr J's apparent bitterness about MJ and about how he feels his own legacy isn't talked up enough.

As a Blazer fan, this video is just pain.

Close enough to Bill writing again, I’ll take it!

Let’s also not forget that the 1984 draft produced the NBA’s all time leader in assists AND steals!

"How good was Hakeem?" "The Rockets picked him over Michael Jordan and even in hindsight no one thinks it was a bad pick."

Why do we not talk about the potential team of MJ, Hakeem and Clyde…. That’s fucking crazy

You’d think they’d learn their lesson. Aaaaaand 23 years later they did it again. Sure thing Superstar scorer in KD? Nah we need a bigman. Bigman with leg injuries in Oden? Say no more. Well takem.

On Ewing's eligibility ~ even if he was available there was no way in hell Houston would have selected him first over the home grown Akeem. They would have been absolutely murdered by the fans and press. I know you were living in Boston at the time but Phi Slamma Jamma was HUGE in Houston. Hell, when they were playing games in the NCAA tournament that coincided with my classes my teachers would roll in TVs on carts and cancel the class so we could all watch the game(s) together.

11:52 only Bill would come up with that 😂. Always loved his sarcasm and humor

No one ever talks about Stockton being missed by 15 teams before being drafted ? Imagine him with Olajuwon , Clyde and Sampson.

We NEED more of this Bill!! Surprised it’s taken so long for this type of KZfaq content

The biggest winners of this…were the Lakers. Portland butchering the draft kept the West mostly on cruise control with the exception of the 86 and 88.

Stockton, Jordan, Barkley, Olajuwon, and stick a rotation of Otis Thorpe and Sam Perkins at that other Forward spot, and the class of 1984 is whooping any other lineup that any other draft could throw out on the court.

Awesome video. Been loving the interview back catalogue podcasts to get me through my commute in the dog days of summer with no NBA

This was an amazing watch

Amazing that Portland did it again with the Oden draft. Another big man that couldn't stay healthy. So sad

Another really good what if came from this draft, what if Oscar Schmidt played in the NBA? He made the hall of fame and never player in the league.

Yo bill do more of these. Great format

We need more of this from Bill/the ringer. Bill shines when discussing the history of the game, it's his best asset that we only get to see sprinkled in during the pods. Give us more ya bum.

Could you imagine being the Houston rep who didn't take the steps to get Hakeem, Drexler, and Jordan together? I'd be having What If nightmares for the rest my life.

I need more vids like these bill this was phenomenal!

These are always the best Bill Simmons/ringer vids.

This is one of the best things Bill has ever done and I don't know why he doesn't do more content like this.

"Play him at center then!" LOL

A postscript to Portland selecting the brittle-legged Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan is they did it again in 2007 when they selected Greg Oden over Kevin Durant.

Deep Rewind ft. Bill Simmons lol. All content is approaching a singularity of Absolute Totality lol.

This is awesome content. More like this please

Portland has to be the biggest what if of all time in NBA. They had so many clear chance at building a super team 1- drafting Bowie over the Goat mj 2- the squandered championship due to sudden meltdown by the pippen led blazer 2000s team. They were so close to beating Lakers the eventual champ 3- the big three of gred Oden, la Marcus and Brandon Roy which never took off. Portland passed out on KD, Brandon Roy had knee issue and retire early which is a shame. He had one of the smoothest game I ever seen. With the current team I don't see them making strides to a championship anytime soon. Goes to show how important mgt w foresight is

Love the context of all the old clips.

Love this video

Inject this into me forever. Great content

Great video and analysisi.... more plz

There are very few people that I could always listen to talk sports. Bill is one.

Terrific video Bill

Fantastic. This type of video is what makes simmons the best

More of these types of videos please

Great vid bill!

such a great video

Loved this vid

The 1984 class is the most top heavy ever. But I would still argue '96 as the best ever in terms of depth. 4 drafted Hall of famers (Iverson, Allen, Nash, Kobe), 1 undrafted (Ben Wallace). The non hall of famers Bill mentioned from 1984 were mostly role players. 1996 had 10 total players that made at least one All-Star game (9 of the 10 had multiple selections). Compared to only 7 players from 1984 with at least one All-star selection. One non-All Star (Marcus Camby) won Defensive Player of the year (2007) and led the lead in shot-blocking 4 times. Derek Fisher was also a 5-time NBA champion from the 96 draft.

Loved your commentary. Hindsight is 20/20 and an easy get.

I can't believe you didn't mention the 76ers drafting Barkley, and could have also had Stockton. Imagine what Stockton to Barkley would have looked like.

That Bill Simmons guy is hilarious and smart 🤣 🏀

Filip Bondy wrote a book about the 84 Draft called " Tip Off" excellent read. Great read. 📙📘

Jordan would’ve been a great SF for Portland. But he also could’ve been the best point guard ever next to Drexler!

Or if Portland needed a Forward SO BAD, pick Barkley #2 and then you have Drexler, Barkley, Porter, Kersey and Duckworth against the Pistons in 1990 Finals and against the Bulls in the 1992 Finals

Ewing almost coming out in 84 is an insane what-if to consider. Do the Rockets make the 86 Finals with a Ewing-Sampson twin towers combo? Does Sampson end up suffering that career-altering fall if Ewing’s there? Do the Blazers still make that dumb Kiki trade if they know they’re getting Hakeem instead of Bowie (if not, Christ that’s a loaded team)? Where does Bowie end up instead and do his fortunes turn out differently if it’s a situation where he doesn’t have to play big minutes right away? Who do the Knicks take in 85 if Ewing isn’t there? Do they even try to tank if Ewing isn’t there?

I guess in Boston it’s “white flags” instead of green 🤣😂

more of these please

Old Bill Simmoms can still pull diamonds out of his ass. This is terrific...just like the one about Bird's perfect game, his last conversation with Kobe etc

Dude you are hilarious. Great work.

Hakeem is still pronounced without the H, just so you know.

Nice Video. For everyone who liked this, and did not know it already, it's from his book of basketball. The actual book, not the Podcast. It is a great read and full of storys, lists and what ifs. Anyone interested in Basketball should read it.

The craziest part of this video is that Jason Robards won a best supporting actor Oscar for that scene.

I just love Bill man!

At about 9:08 Bill says "low cut Jeri Curls..." No Bill, that was a natural. lol

Wow this was great. That Bowie pick aged liked milk half way into Jordan's rookie season. Love sports What Ifs. Please do more of these.

My God Simmons, that is one helluva room!

Just to think 23 years later they’d make a similar mistake is mind blowing. We all knew Greg Oden was supposed to take the crown from Shaq but wow how very similar to American politics history repeats itself

People rag on sam bowie but honestly he was really good till he kept getting injured

The fifth-string comic at open-mic night at the Chuckle Hut doesn't have to worry about Simmons taking his spot.

Since this video is all about what-if's, my what-if question would be, what would the Bulls have taken Bowie third, looked to move the pick ahead of the draft had they known Portland was going to take MJ, any thoughts on there in KZfaq land?

Five things that people have to consider: 1) Centers were more valued than guards in the 80s, which was why Dream and Bowie were picked ahead of Jordan 2) Everybody knew that Mike was incredible, but the common belief in the 80s was that the road to the championship went through centers So it's no wonder why Portland had blind faith in Bowie regardless of his history with injuries 3) Ralph Sampson was THAT dude before the injuries He was 7'4" with guard skills; he could bring the ball up the court and take his man off the dribble from the top of the key. He played the 4 even though Dream was 4 inches shorter @ the 5 The idea of Houston trading Sampson for Glide and possibly drafting Jordan wasn't considered a bad move @ the time because of his skill set 4) Bowie never told Portland about the pain in his left tibia. He was too thirsty to get picked over Jordan. If Portland knew of the pain in his knee, they might've picked Sam Perkins instead, who was picked by Dallas after Jordan (Portland already had Glide and Jim Paxson @ the guard positions, so there was no "NEED" to draft MJ) 5) There was no guarantee that MJ would've been comfortable playing the point or the 3 in the NBA while sharing scoring duties with Dream and/or Glide - drafting two guards who were ball dominant with the same skill set would've been redundant (you saw what happened when the Knicks drafted Rod Strickland the year after drafting Mark Jackson).

AHAHAHAHA blown under the table got me good

You forget legendary Brazilian Oscar Schmidt which also part of this draft. He was chosen as 131th pick by New Jersey Nets, but he didn't follow through as NBA forbid players from joining national teams at that time. Schmidt however, was a regular player in Brazilian National Team so he withdraw from NBA

This pod highlights how much big men were valued over guards. Magic and MJ changed that preconceived notion

I’ve read this excerpt in the book, but man: if there were any Blazer Truthers out there that didn’t hate Simmons before…

As a blazer fan this video sent me into seizures.

Houston would not have picked Ewing first. Akeem (Hakeem) was their pick regardless of Ewing. The city of Houston would have been pissed if they passed on the University of Houston center Akeem Olajuwon. Come on man.

If Houston accepts the trade w/Portland, they give up Ralph, who is DONE in 3 yrs, and receive Clyde Drexler, to give them 22-yr-old versions of Clyde AND Dream. That’s already ridiculous. Already, we’re talking about a completely different WC for 10 yrs. To think they would then have the #2 pick AS WELL…mercy. Even if they said, “we already have Clyde, we don’t need Jordan. With Ralph gone, we’re gonna bolster our front line by taking this Barkley kid, he might fit well with this Akeem kid.” Dream-Chuck-Clyde, all aged 21-22, for 10+ years. Yikes. Considering Sam Perkins’ UNC pedigree and superior stats to Auburn Chuck, and questions regarding Chuck’s conditioning, it’s reasonable to assume they might have taken Perkins over Chuck. However, with Clyde, Reid and McCray, HOU was looking good on the wings as well as the bigs with 22 yr-old sure-thing Dream w/33 yr-old Top 5 All-Time shot blocker (at the time) Caldwell Jones. This means it’s pretty plausible that, at this point, with depth/talent on the wings and at center, the Rockets would have said, “our weakest area now is at PG, we should go for the Stockton kid outta Gonzaga. He just avg. 21 PPG on 58% shooting, 7 APG and 4 SPG.” Olajuwon-Drexler-Stockton, all 22 years old. Had Houston accepted the Portland trade, out of all three Big 3 scenarios, this one is arguably the most plausible and the most perfectly complimentary Big 3. Top 5 All-Time PG facilitating a Top 5 All-Time C and a Top 5 All-Time SG, each age 22, simultaneously peaking over the next decade.

I was born in the 90's but can anyone explain to me what was the logic behind Sam Bowie's pick? I by the looks of it he didn't really popped out in college.

Conspiracy Bill is going to make a cameo, me thinks

11:54 classic Bill Simmons!

imagine Michael playing with Arvydas. :( that one kills me to no end, even though i know that one requires a geopolitical butterfly's wings to go along with the Ben Bradlee speech

Another "what if": In the 1984 season finale, the Jazz lost to the Clippers, putting Houston in the Super Flip with Portland. If the Jazz won, the Clippers would have had the worst pick in the West, and Philly would have gotten the Clips' pick due to a 1978 trade for World B. Free. No matter who won the flip, MJ would have been the successor to Dr. J in Philly, and Akeem would have been going to Portland.

Txt I sent to my best friend from HS, both of us life-long die-hard Blazer fans: “Hey… this vid is def worth watching - if you have limited time, then at least watch from 8:15-15:40… I would also highly recommend having three items with you for the viewing: • Something to Punch • Something to Dry your Eyes • Something to Muffle your Sobs”

With Portland's medical staff there is a chance Jordan wouldn't recover from his 2nd season injury

What about the what if, of Chicago not passing over Drexler in the 83 draft? Do they still take Jordan in 84 (they may not have had as high a pick either if rookie Drexler won them more games)? And if not, how much success do an eventual prime combo of Drexler and Pippen have?

Bill makes some great points. So many people act like Jordan was such a surprise. I don't think anyone thought he would be THAT good, but plenty of people knew that he could be a star.

Great video all around! But Olajuwon didn’t have a jeri curl. It was more like lol, “berries & juices” - Coming to America…

Great job Bill but you should have added that Portland didn't even learn its lesson after 1984, because they then again rolled the dice in 2007 by taking Greg Oden #1 over all instead of Kevin Durant!

That MJ, Hakeem and Clyde ROCKETS team would've been Champs within the 1st 3 years and would've started one epic dynasty. MJ having the best center in the league in Hakeem (Offensive juggernaut and an even better defender) with him and a SUPERSTAR Clyde Drexler. They would've rivaled that Celtics dynasty from the 60's. I predict 10+ chips. MJ would've won 8 if he didn't get suspended in Chicago. With those two? Unfair.

With Olajuwon being at Houston university they would have surely seen a lot of him already and knew what he was guaranteed to bring to the rockets

I love my City Chicago ❤️.

KIKI was an all-star averaging 30 points in 56%FG he was one of the TOP3 players of that 84 season. He was ahead of players like I.THOMAS and SAMPSON himself. He was ahead of DR J (dunks are just 2 points). He changed to a team that played him in a different position and didnt play small ball the pace of those BLAZZERS were SLOW.

Hakeem, MJ, and Clyde. With Jordan locking down Magic and Kareem having no idea how to guard Hakeem. Could the Rockets have won it all in 84-85? I would assume Jordan still gets injured in in 85-86, so the Celtics still win then. 86-87 would be the most epic Western Conference Finals in history.

I like this revisit lol. It really makes Portland look bad. LOL Thanks Portland!

11:50 LOL

Olajuwon, Jordan and Drexler... That team starts winning titles in 1990 (instead of Detroit, one year ahead of our current timeline for Michael) and stops in 2002. Olajuwon and Jordan would be 39, Drexler would be 40. That team would have just enough to hold off Tim Duncan / David Robinson and whatever the Lakers are putting out there.

I think you gotta think about the league in 1984. The biggest winners at that point won with big men. Russell, Chamberlain, Reed, Cowens, Walton, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes, Kareem. Heck Bird and Magic were bigger than Jordan. Nobody under 6’8 had a chance to be the dude on a title team.

Do a video on if the Hardship rule didn't exist. Ewing, Hakeem, Barkley, Jordan and Mullin coming out in 85.

Why not do a rewatchables for past draft coverages?