19 y/o Michael Jordan beat Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler as a freshman at North Carolina

Nithin Joseph | 20/09/2022
19 y/o Michael Jordan beat Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler as a freshman at North Carolina

Michael Jordan is one of the greats. His greatness was on display early on against the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon!

The 1984 NBA Draft saw two of the greatest players in NBA history drafted in the Top 5. Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan are legends of the game.

38 years later and fans are still discussing whether franchises got the draft right. With many debating if MJ should have been selected over Olajuwon with the first pick.

His Airness certainly has a heck of a resume. Six championships, six Finals MVPs, five regular season MVPs and multiple other awards to his name makes Jordan one of the GOATs of the league!

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However, before the two battled it out on the NBA court they faced each other in college, and MJ came out on top.

Michael Jordan once beat Hakeem Olajuwon as a freshman at North Carolina

The Houston Rockets had the first pick in the draft back in 1984. With that pick they decided to go with Hakeem Olajuwon, and a pick later the GOAT, Michael Jordan was selected.

However, this isn’t the first time MJ and Hakeem were mentioned in the same breath. In fact, the two men met on the court long before they were in the NBA.

Back in 1982, Jordan led the North Carolina team alongside James Worthy against a Houston team featuring Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The six-time champ would score 18 points helping his team through the Final Four!

Jordan would continue to dominate even after college, only allowing Hakeem to pick a ring or two after he pre-maturely retired from basketball for the first time.

Also Read: Michael Jordan, who gifted Charles Barkley a $20,000 Diamond Earring, was accused by the same of ‘selective persecution’

Post Edited By: Samir Mehdi
Clyde Drexler Hakeem Olajwon James Worthy Michael Jordan

About the author

Nithin Joseph

Nithin is a content writer at The SportsRush. Like his favorite athlete Kobe Bryant, the company has helped Nithin elevate his writing skills to a whole new level, especially as an NBA content writer. With over 1500 articles to his name, Nithin's love for the sport knows no bounds. And, as he continues to watch the sport on a daily basis, he hopes his fascination with the NBA, especially the Miami Heat will inspire more and more readers to give the sport a chance. Perhaps, one day making basketball in India as big as it is in the United States.

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