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Sam Bowie

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Samuel (Sam) Paul Bowie (born March 17, 1961 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is a retired American National Basketball Association center who is best known for being selected ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft.

High school

As a player at Lebanon High School, Bowie was one of the most heavily recruited players ever. He averaged over 28 points per game and 18 rebounds per game and was a McDonald's All-American and Parade All-American. In 1980, Bowie was picked for the Basketball at the United States Olympic Men's Basketball Team, the last player with no college or professional basketball experience to make the Olympic squad.

Kentucky Wildcats

He played college basketball at the University of Kentucky for five years where he was well-regarded, but hobbled by leg injuries that benched him for two seasons.

NBA

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 as one of the greatest players in basketball history, earning five NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. Portland's draft decision is widely regarded as one of the worst in NBA history. [1]. 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, and that at the time of the draft, Bowie was a logical pick on paper.

After four injury-plagued seasons with the Trail Blazers in which he averaged 10.5 points per game, Bowie was traded, along with a draft pick, to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Buck Williams on June 24, 1989. 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.

Life after basketball

Bowie is part-owner of a thoroughbred horse stable in Kentucky.[citation needed]

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