NBA what-ifs not discussed enough [View all]

We all know some of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history - what if Portland drafted Michael Jordan, what if the Hornets kept Kobe Bryant, etc. Those have been done to death. I think we should discuss some other ones.

I’ve got a few involving Michael that I think are worth discussing:

What if the Bulls won the coin flip for the 1979 Draft? This is the big one, this changed everything. The Lakers won the coin flip and the right to draft Magic Johnson. We get the Showtime Dynasty of the 1980s and the continuation of the Bird vs. Magic rivalry.

Neither of these things happen if Magic is a Bull. He doesn’t see instant success that he saw in L.A., though who knows about long term in Chicago? But it’s almost guaranteed Michael Jordan is never drafted by the Bulls, since I can’t imagine a scenario they’re in a position to draft Michael with a fully healthy Magic. The game doesn’t grow the way it does thanks to Magic, Bird and Jordan. Another Hall of Famer, Sidney Moncrief, got selected in the top five in 1979, and would’ve been pretty good consolation if the Lakers went that route, though he was obviously no Magic.

What if the Blazers won the coin flip over the Rockets in 1984? Akeem Olajuwon was the top prospect, and he’s probably chosen by Portland here. There’s almost certainly another championship banner, maybe multiple more, in addition to the one Portland has from 1977 to reunite Phi Slamma Jamma earlier than in the original timeline and that Portland team with Olajuwon would be unfair. The Rockets don’t reach the 1986 NBA Finals, no Twin Towers with Ralph Sampson and the Rockets might still be waiting on their first Finals appearance since 1981, plus no champion banners, if Hakeem went to Portland.

Ralph Sampson wasn’t healthy. Like Greg Oden two decades later, Sam Bowie wasn’t bad, he just got marred by injuries. In this scenario in which Olajuwon is a Blazer, Bowie is a Rocket, the Bulls still take Michael Jordan. The Celtics still win the championship in 1986, though Bird has two Finals victories against Magic instead of just one. Jordan might still reach the top and win, but has lesser rings than what he actually won.

What if the Bulls packaged the third pick for Jack Sikma? This one I’m glad didn’t happen, being a Bulls fan. Sikma is a Hall of Famer, and the Bulls needed a center, but his last All Star appearance came during Jordan’s rookie season. A potential pick of Michael Jordan in Seattle might mean the Sonics still exist and the Thunder do not. We almost certainly never get the duo of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.

What if Michael stayed in school? He had one more season left to play, if he wanted to. In addition to the league being changed forever with him going to a different team, who do the Bulls take? Does Rod Thorn recognize Charles Barkley’s talents like he recognized Jordan’s? Or do the Bulls go with need and take Jordan’s fellow former teammate at North Carolina in Sam Perkins? Perkins went fourth in 1984 to Dallas, Barkley fifth to Philly.

Some non-Jordan what-ifs:

What if Dominique Wilkins suited up for the Jazz and they didn’t trade him? Dominique didn’t want to leave Georgia, and the Jazz traded him to the Hawks, a pretty one-sided deal. In this scenario, Dominique is a Jazz player. In the original timeline, the Hawks took Kevin Willis 11th overall in 1984, two years after they acquired Dominique, while the Jazz took John Stockton 16th. In this scenario, I will say Stockton still goes to Utah and is paired with Wilkins. But is Karl Malone still there for the taking in 1985 at No. 13?

If not, Wilkins-Stockton is a nice pair. If so, a trio of Malone-Stockton-Wilkins would’ve been scary. The Jazz are potential title contenders here, but Dominique‘s best years were behind him when the Jazz reached the Finals against the Bulls, so he wouldn’t have swung either series.

What if the 76ers won the 1977 NBA Championship? Philadelphia won the first two games, Portland won the next four. Gene Shue would’ve had his championship after previously falling shy in 1971 as coach of the Baltimore Bullets, was a 5X All Star, plus All-NBA First and Second Teams as a player in addition to two Finals appearances a day coach. Maybe he’d have been in the Hall of Fame by now. I sure hope 2025 is the year the late Gene Shue goes in.

What about all of you? What what-ifs in NBA history don’t get talked about enough?