It’s the gaffe no one wants to remember and every Blazers fan wants to forget – the selection of Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. But like every team, the Blazers have had their share of draft-day hits and misses.

Remember LaRue Martin? Neither do most basketball fans. Those who do remember him know him for all the wrong reasons. Widely regarded as the worst overall number-one pick in draft history, the Blazers hoped he’d be the cornerstone of the franchise when they took him in 1972. Four years later, after averaging just five points and five rebounds a game, Martin was out of the game.

AP Photo

Blazers rookie Brandon Roy in his pro debut against the team he grew up rooting for, the Seattle Sonics.

Fortunately, the Blazers didn’t miss Martin much. That’s because just two years later, the team made the most of their next chance at the overall number-one. In 1974, Portland snagged the center who would lead it to the promised land. Bill Walton spent two years battling injuries, then broke out, eventually guiding Portland to the 1977 NBA title.

One year later, Portland had the first pick again, using it to select Mychal Thompson. He had a solid NBA career, but who would you rather have on your team – Thompson, or the man taken five picks later, Hall of Famer Larry Bird?

But just as top picks are no guarantee of success, later selections can be a gold mine for teams with a sharp eye for talent. And during the mid-1980’s Portland had that eye. In 1983, 13 other teams passed on the player who would go on to become one of the greatest Blazers of all time, Clyde Drexler.

Terry Porter lasted to the final overall pick of the first round in 1985. He then lasted 10 years in Portland, steadying the backcourt as the Blazers made run after run at the NBA title.

Even that fateful 1984 draft that saw Portland passing on Jordan gave the Blazers a key to its Western Conference winning teams of the early 1990s.

With the 46th pick in 1984, Portland took a little-known forward out of a small school in Virginia. It didn’t take long for Jerome Kersey to work his way into the hearts of Blazers fans – and the starting line-up of some of the most successful Portland teams of all time.

That low pick, high value trend extends all the way to this year’s team. Eighteen players went before Zach Randolph in the 2001 draft. All he did last year was put up some of the best numbers in the entire NBA, averaging almost 24 points and more than 10 rebounds a game.

But Blazers fans aren’t worried about later round value this year – not with the team’s first number-one overall pick in 29 years ready to bring Rip City roaring back to life.