Kevin Durant sent NBA history fans down a familiar but still jaw-dropping rabbit hole when he floated one of the league’s greatest ‘what ifs’ on Boardroom. Sitting across from Hakeem Olajuwon, Durant brought up a long rumored draft scenario that, if completed, might have completely rewritten basketball history.
Kevin Durant: “Is it true that it was a trade that would have sent Clyde to the Rockets for the second pick?”
Hakeem Olajuwon: “Oh, I heard that. I heard it afterwards. I didn’t know about that one.”
Kevin Durant: “The draft, it would have been you, Jordan, and Clyde. Oh my goodness. That would have been 10 to 12 championships. Greatest team of all time.”
It is hard to argue with Kevin Durant here.
The scenario traces back to the 1984 NBA Draft, one of the most talent-rich drafts ever. Houston already held the No. 1 pick and selected Olajuwon. Portland, holding the No. 2 pick, allegedly explored a deal that would have sent Clyde Drexler and that second pick to Houston in exchange for Ralph Sampson. Had the Rockets pulled the trigger, they would have owned the first two picks in the draft and likely selected Michael Jordan with No. 2.
That trio would not have been theoretical chemistry. Olajuwon and Drexler already had history from their Phi Slama Jama days at Houston, where they terrorized college basketball with speed, power, and flair. Add Jordan to that mix, and the league may never have recovered.
Durant’s ’10 to 12 championships’ comment sounds outrageous until you break it down. Jordan alone won six titles in eight seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Olajuwon captured two championships in the mid-1990s, both while Jordan was briefly out of the league. Drexler, often overshadowed historically, was a perennial Finals-caliber player who finally broke through with Houston in 1995.
From 1990 to 1998, every NBA Finals featured at least one of those three players. From 1991 to 1998, every champion had either Jordan or Olajuwon. Put all three on the same roster, in their primes, under one system, and the competitive balance of the league likely disappears.
The fit would have been absurd. Olajuwon was anchoring the defense as the most versatile two-way center of his era. Jordan as the relentless perimeter scorer and elite defender. Drexler as the secondary creator, slasher, and transition nightmare. There are no defensive weaknesses to exploit, no offensive gaps to hide.
Durant’s comment also carried extra weight because it came during the same conversation in which Olajuwon named Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, and David Robinson as the toughest defenders he ever faced. Even among legends, Olajuwon spoke with the authority of someone who had truly seen it all.
That Houston hesitation altered everything. Jordan goes to Chicago, Olajuwon becomes the Rockets’ lone pillar, and Drexler spends most of his prime battling Jordan’s Bulls with the Blazers. The league gets dynasties instead of one unstoppable superpower.
