"If we drafted Jordan, Showtime still would’ve won a title": Mychal Thompson reminisces joking with Magic Johnson about Portland's draft miss in 1984
The Portland Trail Blazers selected Sam Bowie with the second overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft, passing up Michael Jordan, who fell to the Chicago Bulls with the third selection. According to Mychal Thompson, the Trail Blazers made a mistake.
Thompson, who was speaking to Sportskeeda's Mark Medina, said if the Trail Blazers drafted Jordan, they would have boasted a better backcourt than the Showtime Lakers.
“Why do you have to bring that up? Way to ruin my day! (laughs) Man, I used to talk about this with Magic (Johnson), Byron (Scott) and Michael Cooper in the locker room.
"I said, 'Guys, could you imagine if Portland had drafted Michael Jordan and teamed him with Clyde Drexler and Fat Lever?’ This might be controversial. I don’t know if I should say this for public consumption.
"But I used to argue about this with Magic, Byron and Coop. They were a great three-man backcourt. You can’t get any better than that except in Portland if we would’ve had Drexler, Lever and Jordan.
"That would have been a better backcourt than the Lakers’ backcourt. Fat Lever is a triple-double point guard. Clyde Drexler is a Hall of Famer. Jordan is Jordan. I would tease Magic, ‘If we drafted Jordan, Showtime still would’ve won a title, but you wouldn’t have won five.’”
Instead, Michael Jordan was part of a Chicago Bulls dynasty that helped the NBA grow into a global brand while also providing some stellar matchups against the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons.
Nevertheless, an opportunity to see Jordan and Clyde Drexler on the same team would have been incredibly fun and almost certainly ended in multiple championships.
Michael Jordan once 'idolized' Mychal Thompson
Portland chose Thompson with the No. 1 pick in the 1978 draft, and he played for the Trail Blazers through 1986. He joined the Lakers in February 1987, winning the last two titles of the Showtime era, in 1987 and 1988.
Los Angeles went 3-2 in the NBA Finals, winning titles in 1980, 1982 and 1985 (Jordan's rookie season) before Jordan and Chicago blossomed.
Los Angeles was 2-2 in the finals with Thompson and Magic Johnson, losing in the finals in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final season to the Pistons in 1989 and in the finals to Jordan in 1991. That was the first of Jordan's six titles as the 1990s belonged to Jordan's Bulls (and the Houston Rockets).
However, there was a time when Jordan idolized the veteran big man and even wanted to start spelling his name the same way.
“Yeah. He told that story to my brother, Andy. He said he liked my name in print and started using it with the way I spelled it," Mychal Thompson told Medina. "But his mother made him stop doing it (laughs).
"I was so flattered and honored. That’s one of the great compliments. The great Michael Jordan wanted to emulate me?! That was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received.”
Michael Jordan ended up having a legendary career and becoming known as the greatest basketball player in history. As such, Jordan likely doesn't idolize any NBA player now. Instead, they idolize him.