In 1984, the Houston Rockets has the option to trade Ralph Sampson to the Portland Trailblazers for Clyde Drexler and the number 2 overall pick in that years draft, which could have resulted in a Rockets lineup lead by Drexler, Olajuwon, and Michael Jordan. You could say these 3 would’ve been the best trio in NBA history.
The was a draft trade offered to the Rockets that would have sent Clyde Drexler and the number two pick in the 1984 NBA draft from Portland in exchange for Ralph Sampson. If the Rockets made the deal, they could’ve selected Michael Jordan with the number two pick to play alongside Olajuwon and Drexler. According to Olajuwon, in his book “Living the Dream” he claims that all of this could’ve happened.
Per sportswriter Sam Smith speculates that such a trade “would have changed league history and maybe the entire Michael Jordan legend”. From 1991 to 1998, every NBA championship team included either Jordan or Olajuwon; furthermore, at least one of Drexler, Jordan, and Olajuwon was involved in every NBA Finals from 1990 to 1998.
Olajuwon and The Rockets won the championship in the 1993-94 season finishing with a record of 58-24 against the Knicks in Game 7. Rockets were already a dominant team with one of the greatest Centers in NBA history and solid supporting cast. The following season, The Rockets won the championship with the new edition of Drexler making that two in a row. But, imagine the run that could’ve happened with arguably the greatest player in NBA history, Air Jordan.
Jordan went on to win six championships with the Chicago Bulls, getting 6x NBA Finals MVPs. Jordan has a tremendous finals record and could’ve been even better with The Rockets. This Rockets team could’ve been the best team to have ever been assembled. Even better than the 73-9 Warriors. I’m sure they would’ve had a better regular season record than that, which would go out to be unbeatable.
