who was picked first in the 1984 nba draft
1984 NBA draft The Houston Rockets used their first pick to draft Akeem Olajuwon,[10] a junior center from the University of Houston. The Nigerian-born Olajuwon became the second foreign-born player to be drafted first overall, after Mychal Thompson from the Bahamas in 1978.[11] The Portland Trail Blazers used the second overall pick to draft Sam Bowie from the University of Kentucky. The Chicago Bulls used the third pick to draft Naismith and Wooden College Player of the Year Michael Jordan from the University of North Carolina.[1][12] Jordan went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award and was also selected to the All-NBA Second Team in his rookie season.[13] Jordan's teammate at North Carolina, Sam Perkins, was drafted fourth by the Dallas Mavericks. Charles Barkley, a junior forward from Auburn University, was drafted fifth by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Kobe Bryant The first guard to ever be taken out of high school, Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996.[30] According to Arn Tellem, Bryant's agent at the time, Bryant playing for the Charlotte Hornets was "an impossibility".[31] However, Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout at the time, said that the Hornets agreed to trade their draft selection to the Los Angeles Lakers before picking Bryant. The teams agreed to the trade the day before the draft and the Lakers told the Hornets whom to select five minutes before the pick was made.[32] Branch said that prior to the trade agreement, the Hornets never even considered drafting Bryant. Prior to the draft, Bryant had worked out in Los Angeles, where he scrimmaged against former Lakers players Larry Drew and Michael Cooper and, according to then-Laker manager Jerry West, "marched over these people".[33] On July 1, 1996, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant's draft rights.[34] Since he was still 17 at the time of the draft, his parents had to cosign his contract with the Lakers until he was able to sign his own when he turned 18 before the season began.[35]
Michael Jordan Jordan again led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting[18] and won his first league MVP Award. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Year, as he had averaged 1.6 blocks and a league high 3.16 steals per game.[35] The Bulls finished 50–32,[30] and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.[36] However, the Bulls then lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons,[29] who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys".[37]
Michael Jordan Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity team, and tallied several 40-point games.[10] The following summer, he grew four inches (10Â cm)[11][4] and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play.[12][13] As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team[14] after averaging a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists.[15]