 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The Entertainment Review |
| By: Filip Bondy Publisher: Da Capo Press |
How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever” by Filip Bondy takes a look at the players and managers
involved in the draft. Many people who pick up this book will be excited to read the NBA legend Bill Walton loved this
book. For anyone who knows anything about basketball will know that anything that Bill Walton says has to be true.
The first few chapters of the book take a look into the individual players that were drafted in 1984, from Michael
Jordan, Sam Bowie, Hakeem Olajuwan, Sam Perkins, Charles Barkley and John Stockton. Bondy gives a brief history
of each player up to the point where they declared for the draft, focusing on their decision to declare for the draft.
Most of the stories that he tells may not be very new for those who are interested in the NBA, and some aren’t
interesting by any means. Through reading the book readers will learn Jordan is an insane competitor and will cheat
anybody in cards; Barkley is fat; Stockton is quiet. There is nothing very revealing in this book.
Some readers will get a little frustrated with the amount of time that was spent discussing Bowie, Olajuwon and
Perkins. This is a book about the entire draft, but many people interested in reading this book want to read more
about Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. It is these stories that are fun stories to reading. Some people may find
themselves skimming through the sections on Bowie and Perkins to get to the sections of the book talking about
Jordan and Barkley. At times readers may wonder why they bought this book instead of a book by Michael Jordan,
but this offers a different perspective than what one may see from a Michael Jordan book.
The sections of the book that talk about the General Managers of the NBA are very interesting. It is neat to read
what the GMs had to say more than 20 years after the draft that changed the NBA. Of course, they are able to see
what they did wrong or what they would have done differently. Though some brag about their decisions, others
spend most of their time defending themselves by arguing that no one could have known that Jordan was going to be
the greatest basketball player of all time. The Blazers’ GM, Stu Inman is the guy who has gone down in history as the
guy who passed on drafting Michael Jordan, but it wasn’t completely his fault. His entire crew believed that Sam
Bowie was going to be the most important pick of the draft. This proved to be incorrect, but Inman will stall claim that
he made the right pick, though the latest pair of Air Bowies have yet to hit the shelves.
There are several other very interesting stories to be told in this book, from how the Rockets almost drafted both
Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan on their team. That would have made the Houston Rockets the most dominant
team in the NBA. There is also the story about how the Chicago Bulls drafted Olympic athlete Carl Lewis. Yes, this
may seem to be quite odd, but it is a true story.
Outside of a few boring sections about players that aren’t very interesting, the book was enjoyable. This book is a
good read for anyone who loves basketball, but it does provide some insight into how the1984 draft helped to shape
today’s NBA. Even the most educated NBA fan will be able to learn something from this book.
involved in the draft. Many people who pick up this book will be excited to read the NBA legend Bill Walton loved this
book. For anyone who knows anything about basketball will know that anything that Bill Walton says has to be true.
The first few chapters of the book take a look into the individual players that were drafted in 1984, from Michael
Jordan, Sam Bowie, Hakeem Olajuwan, Sam Perkins, Charles Barkley and John Stockton. Bondy gives a brief history
of each player up to the point where they declared for the draft, focusing on their decision to declare for the draft.
Most of the stories that he tells may not be very new for those who are interested in the NBA, and some aren’t
interesting by any means. Through reading the book readers will learn Jordan is an insane competitor and will cheat
anybody in cards; Barkley is fat; Stockton is quiet. There is nothing very revealing in this book.
Some readers will get a little frustrated with the amount of time that was spent discussing Bowie, Olajuwon and
Perkins. This is a book about the entire draft, but many people interested in reading this book want to read more
about Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. It is these stories that are fun stories to reading. Some people may find
themselves skimming through the sections on Bowie and Perkins to get to the sections of the book talking about
Jordan and Barkley. At times readers may wonder why they bought this book instead of a book by Michael Jordan,
but this offers a different perspective than what one may see from a Michael Jordan book.
The sections of the book that talk about the General Managers of the NBA are very interesting. It is neat to read
what the GMs had to say more than 20 years after the draft that changed the NBA. Of course, they are able to see
what they did wrong or what they would have done differently. Though some brag about their decisions, others
spend most of their time defending themselves by arguing that no one could have known that Jordan was going to be
the greatest basketball player of all time. The Blazers’ GM, Stu Inman is the guy who has gone down in history as the
guy who passed on drafting Michael Jordan, but it wasn’t completely his fault. His entire crew believed that Sam
Bowie was going to be the most important pick of the draft. This proved to be incorrect, but Inman will stall claim that
he made the right pick, though the latest pair of Air Bowies have yet to hit the shelves.
There are several other very interesting stories to be told in this book, from how the Rockets almost drafted both
Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan on their team. That would have made the Houston Rockets the most dominant
team in the NBA. There is also the story about how the Chicago Bulls drafted Olympic athlete Carl Lewis. Yes, this
may seem to be quite odd, but it is a true story.
Outside of a few boring sections about players that aren’t very interesting, the book was enjoyable. This book is a
good read for anyone who loves basketball, but it does provide some insight into how the1984 draft helped to shape
today’s NBA. Even the most educated NBA fan will be able to learn something from this book.
