Sam Bowie

Sam Bowie

Personal information
Born	(1961-03-17) March 17, 1961 Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Nationality	USA
Listed height	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school	Lebanon (Pennsylvania)
College	Kentucky
NBA draft	1984: 2nd overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career	1984–1995
Position	Center
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Samuel (Sam) Paul Bowie (born March 17 1961, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association who is probably best known for being selected before Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft. He was a 7'1", 235 lb center.

High school and college

As a player at Lebanon High School, Bowie was one of the most heavily recruited players ever. He averaged over 28 points and 18 rebounds per game, and was a McDonald's All-American and Parade All-American.In some opinions, he was considered better than another highly recruited center, Ralph Sampson, who he beat out for Player of the Year award. In 1980, Bowie was picked for the United States Olympic Men's Basketball Team, the last player with no college or professional basketball experience to make the Olympic squad. Sam left the University of Kentucky after 3 seasons, and serious leg injuries, to enter the NBA draft. Before his unfortunate injury, Bowie had made 3rd team All-American his sophomore year.

NBA career

In 1984, Bowie entered the NBA draft, and after the Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon with the first pick in the draft, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Bowie over North Carolina shooting guard Michael Jordan. Jordan was picked third, by the Chicago Bulls, and would go on to be considered the greatest player in basketball history, earning five NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and winning six NBA Championships. Future All-Stars Charles Barkley (power forward) and John Stockton (point guard) were also available at this point during the 1984 draft. Portland's draft decision is regarded by ESPN as the worst in NBA history.. Sports Illustrated called Bowie the biggest NBA draft bust in a 2005 list, arguing that teams should not draft according to current need but to a player's potential. Some past NBA critics have discussed, and would agree, that the label put on Bowie to be a "bust" is largely due to the fact that Jordan eventually had an amazing basketball career, not that Bowie was that bad of player. Further, they would agree that at the time of the draft, Bowie was a logical pick on paper given that the Trail Blazers had just picked a shooting guard the previous year (Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler).

During his rookie season, Bowie played in 76 games and averaged 10 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. However, injuries limited him to only 63 games over the next four seasons, including only five during the 1986-87 NBA season and missing the entire 1987-88 NBA season. On June 24, 1989, Bowie, who had averaged 10.5 points per game with the Trail Blazers, was traded, along with a draft pick, to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Buck Williams. Bowie's four seasons in New Jersey were his healthiest and most successful; he averaged 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and never missed more than 20 games in a season. After two injury-riddled years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bowie retired from professional basketball in 1995.

Over his career, Bowie averaged 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.78 blocks per game. He hit 30.2% of his three-point shots.

On 14 September 2007 it was reported that Sam Bowie had recently granted an interview to ESPN. Speaking to reporter Marc Stein in the wake of disclosures that the Blazers' 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden was undergoing microfracture surgery, Bowie disclosed that guilt over the fact that he was earning good money after being picked by the Blazers resulted in him rushing back to action too soon from his injury but that, nevertheless, he considers that his life has turned out well and that he is a happy family man.

External links

• Sam Bowie - The Fateful Pick @ bigbluehistory.net
• NBA stats @ basketball-reference.com
• Draft Busts @ SI.com