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Is he a forgettable franchise footnote, a 7-foot-1 package of fool's gold who’s mammoth size and potential convinced the Blazers to draft him ahead of Michael Jordan, who became the NBA’s greatest player? Or is Bowie a calculated liar who deceived the Blazers about his health and covered up the extent of his ailing left leg before the 1984 NBA Draft? “Anybody that knows me, from the hierarchy in the Portland Trail Blazers during my playing days to my teammates to my friends and family, knows I would never deceive or trick or lie to anybody,” Bowie told The Oregonian during a phone interview Wednesday. “I wasn’t raised that way. You can call me a lot of things, but don’t look at me as though I deceived or tricked (the organization). “I thought I would play 15 years and win a couple championships with the Blazers.” Oregonian

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During the film, which The Oregonian viewed before its release, Bowie admits that he wasn’t entirely forthcoming about the condition of his left leg as he recounted a story about his medical examination in Portland. “I can still remember them taking a little mallet, and when they would hit me on my left tibia, and ‘I don’t feel anything’ I would tell ‘em. But deep down inside, it was hurting,” Bowie said in the documentary. “If what I did was lying and what I did was wrong, at the end of the day, when you have loved ones that have some needs, I did what any of us would have done.” Oregonian

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What’s more, Bowie made no apologies for his apparent deception. “I’m 51 years old now and my legs are broke down,” he said in the documentary. “I’m very proud, don’t feel like I owe an apology to anyone. The bottom line is: Sam Bowie was drafted before Michael Jordan and you’re gonna have to accept that.” Oregonian

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“This is the first I’ve heard of anything like this,” Glickman told The Oregonian. “As far as I knew, he had a clean bill of health from our team doctor. This really shocks me.” Oregonian

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“My discomfort wasn’t to the point where I would say to the Portland Trail Blazers or anyone else, ‘My leg is extremely sore. I wouldn’t draft me. I don’t think I’m going to play a full career in the NBA,’” Bowie told The Oregonian. “That wasn’t the situation at all. The thing that bothers me is that I’m looked upon in some way as a liar. That’s never been my demeanor, my makeup, my character. By no means was I tricking or was it a premeditated position to lie and give somebody damaged goods. To say that I deliberately went into the Portland Trail Blazers’ front office and completely lied to them about my physical being could not be further form the truth.” Oregonian

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Sam Bowie on his college injuries: “Every time I looked up, Ralph [Sampson] was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he was awarded the John Wooden Player of the Year [Award], I watched when Dominique Wilkins left Georgia…James Worthy, Isiah Thomas get drafted. I’m nowhere close to hearing my name called. And looking back on it now when I took off for that last alleyoop that was the last time that I was 100% sound physically. It’s been a nightmare ever since that play.” ESPN.com

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Bowie on being examined by Portland prior to 1984 NBA Draft: “I can still remember them taking a little mallet, and when they would hit me on my left tibia, and ‘I don’t feel anything’ I would tell ‘em. But deep down inside, it was hurting. If what I did was lying and what I did was wrong, at the end of the day, when you have loved ones that have some needs, I did what any of us would have done.” ESPN.com

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So just where is Bowie now? He's back in Lexington, Ky., where he's still treated as basketball royalty. And he spends his days following athletes with equally fragile legs as a racehorse owner. He even struck it big by purchasing a harness racehorse named "Before He Cheats" (yes, after the Carrie Underwood song). The horse has won Bowie hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bowie's reaction to being called the greatest NBA draft bust ever? "There's a small part of you — and I think it's human nature — that you want to man up, roll your sleeves up, dig your heels in and represent yourself," Bowie said. But, he added, "I personally feel elated that my game was to the point where someone thought of me worthy of the second pick, and I don't feel I need to apologize by any means." Yahoo! Sports

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