🏀 1984 NBA Draft What-If: How One Change Created a 🐴 Mavericks Dynasty and Changed Basketball Forever 🔥

It all started with Sam Perkins being selected third in the 1984 NBA Draft. Looking back on the last 10 years, it wasn’t the Lakers, Pistons, and Bulls that ruled.

Instead, only two franchises dominated until 1992 — the Celtics and the Mavericks. After ’92, we started to see a new trend: two different champions in back-to-back years.

In today’s post, we reflect on the last decade and look ahead to what the next 10 years might bring. This alternate NBA will eventually see LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan all playing together in the 2000s.

Before we can get there, we first need to see what moving MJ and Kobe out of their original eras will do. Jordan entered the NBA first, in 1984, so we went back there.

With Jordan not in this draft, every pick after him moved up one spot. Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie still went to their real-life teams — the Rockets and Blazers — but everyone else shifted.

The winners of this draft, because of that movement, were the Dallas Mavericks. They not only landed Charles Barkley at No. 4 (thanks to owning the Cavaliers’ pick), but John Stockton also moved up one slot to No. 15 — which happened to be Dallas’s own pick.

With these two cornerstone players, the Mavericks went on to dominate the West and win four NBA titles in the process. They might have won more, but our universe eventually aligns with reality.

What do I mean by that? In this world, players can be drafted by different teams, but they only stay with their drafted team until their first real-life move.

In Barkley’s case, that meant going to the Phoenix Suns in 1992 — so in our world, that also happens. Stockton, on the other hand, spent his entire real-life career in Utah, so here he will do the same in Dallas

Barkley played eight years with the Philadelphia 76ers (the team that drafted him) in real life, so in our world, he also spent eight years with the Mavericks — and like I said earlier, he made it count, winning four titles in that time.

Because the Mavericks were so good from 1986–1992, they were directly responsible for the Lakers’ demise. From 1986–1989, the Mavericks eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs three out of four times.

In the East, the Celtics reigned supreme from 1985–1991. During that stretch, they won three titles in our world. Just like in real life, the Pistons fell early to Boston.

From 1985–1988, it was the Celtics who eliminated Isiah Thomas’ Pistons from the playoffs. As for ’89 and ’90 — the years the Pistons won back-to-back titles in real life — in our world they missed the playoffs both years.

The Atlanta Hawks were always a solid team through the late ’80s and early ’90s, but in our world, they became elite thanks to drafting Brad Daugherty in 1986, and then Derrick Coleman in 1990.

In 1989, it was the Hawks — not the Pistons — who held the #1 seed in the East. The real-life Pistons again claimed the top seed in 1990, but in our world, that honor went to the New York Knicks.

The Knicks had drafted Roy Tarpley in 1986, and by 1990 he was a two-time All-Star in our universe. He became the perfect running mate for perennial All-Star Patrick Ewing.

In real life, Tarpley was never an All-Star, but in our world, a player’s worth is determined by his average stats for the year — and in 1989 and 1990, Tarpley’s numbers were among the best in the East.

As for the Bulls, without Michael Jordan, they don’t win three titles in the early ’90s — but they do rebuild smartly through the draft. In 1985, the Jordan-led Bulls made the playoffs in reality, but here they finished with the worst record in the league.

Our Bulls became one of the first lottery teams in 1985, and with their pick, they selected Chris Mullin. Scottie Pippen still ended up in Chicago, thanks to a draft-day trade in 1987.

With both Pippen and Mullin, the Bulls returned to the playoffs in 1988, but still needed more to compete. In 1991, after missing the playoffs, they landed the #1 pick — Larry Johnson.

In Johnson’s rookie year, the Bulls made their first NBA Finals appearance. The very next year, they returned — and this time won it all.

So in 1993, the Bulls of our world aligned with the Jordan Bulls from reality: Jordan was winning his third title, while our Bulls — led by Scottie Pippen — broke through for their first championship!

Let’s now go year by year. The first two years of our universe aligned with reality. Year 1 (1985) saw the Lakers beat the Celtics, just like in real life. Year 2 (1986) had the Celtics defeating the Rockets, again matching reality.

That’s where it all changed. In Year 3 (1987), the Celtics reached the Finals just like in real life — but their opponent wasn’t the Lakers. Instead, Barkley’s Mavericks represented the West.

The result? Boston went back-to-back, while the Mavericks denied Magic and the Lakers the title they won in reality. The ripple effects of the 1984 draft were already reshaping everything.

In 1988, the real-life Lakers would have gone back-to-back against the Pistons. Instead, Barkley, Stockton, and the Mavericks won their first of three straight titles. Their opponents: the Celtics (’88), the Hawks (’89), and the Celtics again (’90).

Just like the real 1988 Celtics, our Celtics were also a No. 1 seed. In reality, the top-seeded Celtics lost to the No. 2 Pistons in the Conference Finals. In our world, those two met in the first round — because our Pistons were only an 8 seed.

Our standings are based on player stats, and in this universe, the Pistons just weren’t that good.

In ’89, Larry Bird missed all but six games and didn’t play in the playoffs. The Hawks, with Dominique Wilkins and Brad Daugherty, claimed the No. 1 seed and advanced to the Finals.

In 1990, Bird returned. Thanks to Boston’s poor performance the year before, they landed Tim Hardaway in the draft. With the rookie running point, the veteran Celtics returned to the Finals.

In 1991, the Celtics reached the Finals again — and thanks to a Cinderella story out of the West, they claimed title No. 3 in our world. It wasn’t the Mavericks this time, but the Minnesota Timberwolves representing the West.

After a decline in ’92, the Timberwolves fell off, and the Mavericks reclaimed the West. The rising Bulls kept the Celtics from making a third straight trip to the Finals.

Barkley and Stockton secured their fourth title together — truly the two players who benefited most from Jordan’s absence. On the flip side, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas were hurt the most.

The Lakers made just one Finals appearance in 10 years, compared to five in reality (’85, ’87–’89, ’91). The Pistons never reached the Finals here, whereas they had three appearances in real life (’88–’90).

As we closed out the first decade, two new franchises claimed championships. In 1993, it was the Bulls defeating Clyde Drexler’s Blazers. With Barkley now in Phoenix, the West was suddenly wide open.

In 1994, the Atlanta Hawks — a top-four seed every year since 1987 — finally hoisted the trophy. It wasn’t with Wilkins (traded to the Clippers), but with Daugherty, Mookie Blaylock, and Derrick Coleman as their All-Star core.

The Hawks become the second franchise to rewrite their history in our world. First, it was the Mavericks, winning four titles in 10 years, while in real life they never even reached a single Finals in that span. 

Now, in 1994, it’s the Hawks’ turn — winning a championship when, in reality, they couldn’t even make a Conference Final during the same period. 

Barkley’s Suns were their opponent, marking it six Finals appearances for the forward. Only Larry Bird had as many — but Barkley held one more title in this universe.

If you count Bird’s entire career, he had two more Finals trips before 1985 (both wins), meaning in our universe Bird, not Magic, finishes with five titles.

Magic Johnson ends up with three total championships in his career if you replace reality with our timeline.

So… what will the next 10 years bring? Stay tuned for Season 11, dropping soon!