Tip-Off

"Hardcore hoop fans will dig this behind-the-scenes look at the 1984 draft" —from the New York Times–bestselling sportswriter and author of The Pine Tar Game (Maxim).

The 1984 NBA draft is most remembered as the one where Michael Jordan slipped to third behind number-one pick Hakeem Olajuwon . . . and the immortal Sam Bowie. You could understand the Houston Rockets choosing Olajuwon, but how on earth could the Portland Trailblazers pass up Jordan for the injury-prone Bowie? For the first time, Filip Bondy pieces together the entire backstory of the draft: from Michael Jordan's indecision over whether he should declare himself eligible for the NBA draft after his junior year . . . to Charles Barkley's calculated attempt to avoid being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers and to improve his position at the Olympic trials . . . to the trades that were considered but fatefully never made.

"Fascinating . . . dissects the historic draft, whose missed possibilities are enough to make fans, or a former team president, weep." —Sports Illustrated

"[A] must-read for NBA fans." —The Washington Post

"You will be amazed how the 1984 draft changed the course of NBA history and how Filip Bondy has brilliantly pulled it all together in Tip-Off." —Bill Walton

"Delivers one of the most fascinating behind-the-scenes passes in NBA history, a shrewdly reported and sharply written book that unearths a beautifully bizarre confluence of events that shaped the golden age of the Michael Jordan generation." —Adrian Wojnarowski, New York Times–bestselling author of The Miracle of St. Anthony