The 1984 NBA draft is most remembered as the one where Michael Jordan slipped to third behind number-one pick Hakeem Olajuwon...and the immortal Sam Bowie. You could understand the Houston Rockets choosing Olajuwon but how on earth could the Portland Trailblazers pass up Jordan for the injury-prone Bowie? For the first time Filip Bondy pieces together the entire backstory of the draft: from Michael Jordan s indecision over whether he should declare himself eligible for the NBA draft after his junior year...to Charles Barkley s calculated attempt to avoid being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers and to improve his position at the Olympic trials...to the trades that were considered but fatefully never made.