"There's not a bigger Greg Oden fan in the world" - Sam Bowie was devastated to see the Blazers' big man suffer the same fate as he
As the saying goes, "lightning never strikes the same place twice." Unfortunately for Portland Trail Blazers fans, that saying could not be further from the truth. For many of the Blazers' faithful, the mere mention of the 1984 NBA Draft brings back nightmares of Sam Bowie , whom the team selected second overall, one spot ahead of a player named Michael Jordan.
A 7'1" center who was dominant in the three seasons he played at Kentucky, the Trail Blazers believed Bowie was the missing piece of their championship puzzle. However, how wrong they all were as the big man played only 139 games for Portland, no thanks to leg injuries that severely limited his availability.
What made the situation even worse was that Jordan went on to win six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls and establish himself as arguably the greatest player in basketball history. Fast forward to 2007, and the Blazers had to endure another infamous draft blunder, this time passing on future MVP and seven-time All-Star Kevin Durant to select Greg Oden first overall.
Once again, injuries plagued Greg's career, and he played only 82 games over two seasons with Portland before moving to Miami . Bowie watched Oden's career unfold from afar and quietly rooted for the athletic big man, admitting that "there's not a bigger Greg Oden fan in the world than Sam Bowie."
It was like watching himself in the mirror
Like Bowie, Oden's career got off to an unpleasant start when he underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee months after the Blazers picked him first. He would then miss the rest of the season.
"I feel terrible for Greg," Bowie told ESPN in a 2007 interview. "I've never talked to the young man, but he's always come across as very professional, very mature. Obviously, with the past history of the team and my situation, he's walked into some quicksand, shall we say. I just hope this kid gets a chance to prove all of the doubters wrong."
As Bowie caught wind of Oden's season-ending surgery, he couldn't help but feel the parallel between their careers. Just like Sam, Greg faced the harsh reality of not being able to live up to the hype and expectations set for him as a highly touted prospect.
"When I heard the news, it kind of froze me. I said to myself that Portland is right back in the situation where they were [in 1984]. I just hope that he fully recovers and turns out to be one of the best players ever," he added.
Bowie felt guilty
Even though Bowie had a solid 10-year career, highlighted by productive seasons with the New Jersey Nets , he still felt guilty about how things went down in Portland.
"For me, to this day, I feel like I want to apologize to the state of Oregon and the people of Portland, even though I didn't have any control over my physical well-being," Bowie said. "It wasn't like I had any control over it, but that's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life."
"If I had known that Michael was going to become the greatest player of all-time, I'd have chosen Michael over myself, too," he emphasized.
Oden actually suffered a fate worse than Bowie's, as he played only 105 games in the NBA. He last played in the NBA in the 2014 NBA Finals for the Heat. The Ohio State product played 25 games for the Jiangsu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association before deciding to officially retire.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
