Hakeem Olajuwon holds up his new jersey after being selected by the Houston Rockets in the NBA draft in New York, June 19, 1984. Rockets owner Charlie Thomas looks up at right. Olajuwon was the first person selected in the draft. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler

Hakeem Olajuwon to Represent Houston Rockets at 2021 NBA Draft Lottery

Scott PolacekJun 7, 2021

The Houston Rockets had the No. 1 overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft when they selected Hakeem Olajuwon, and they're hoping the big man can bring them similar luck for this year's draft.

On Monday, the Rockets announced that Olajuwon will be the team's representative at the 2021 NBA draft lottery:

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Olajuwon is a Houston legend as a Hall of Famer who won two championships during a career that included two NBA Finals MVPs, a league MVP, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, 12 All-NBA selections, nine All-Defensive selections and 12 All-Star selections.

The Rockets were missing players like that this season on the way to a league-worst 17-55 season.

The silver lining from such an effort is they are tied for the best chance to land the No. 1 overall pick at 14 percent and the best chance to land in the top four picks at 52.1 percent, per Tankathon.

While Houston surely wants the No. 1 pick, landing the No. 3 pick might not be the worst thing either. After all, none other than Michael Jordan himself was the No. 3 pick in Olajuwon's draft class.