The sad tale of Sam Bowie has been told and re-told many times in the 28 years since the Portland Trail Blazers selected him second overall in the 1984 NBA draft, but for the first time in quite a while we've actually been given a new wrinkle to his story. Bowie, who constantly battled foot and leg problems throughout his star-crossed (but not star-making) career, played in only 511 out of a possible 820 games in his 10-year run. He never made an All-Star team, and never was given the chance to follow through on the potential that his long frame, smooth touch, smart instincts and good athleticism created for him.

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Now, some 17 years after his last NBA game, Bowie revealed in an ESPN documentary that his NBA career began with the center needlessly keeping quiet about how much pain he was in during the days leading up to Portland's selection of the former Kentucky center. A selection that, famously, came one spot before the Chicago Bulls took Michael Jordan with the third overall pick.

From the documentary "Going Big," which airs Dec. 20 on ESPNU:

"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 graciously allowed us a sneak peak at the docu, and though we haven't had time to work through the whole thing, a few significant factors pop up.

For one, Bowie's time in high school in Lebanon, Pa., may have been a peak as a healthy performer, but in watching the big man it's clear even then that he was uneasy at times while dealing with aches and pains, or needed to be taught and trained to work through the game in a way that didn't put undue stress on his legs and feet. Watching video of Bowie from that era is to see all the hallmarks of Sam at his best — all alley-oop dunks and slick passing — but it's uncomfortable at times to watch him work up and down the court.

There's a fractured shin in college that went undiagnosed for months. Then there's the admission that he hid pain from Portland doctors before the draft. And then on draft night, with Houston already having selected Hakeem Olajuwon first overall and Jordan off at Team USA's training camp in preparation for the 1984 Olympics, the Blazers made what was considered the obvious choice. With an All-Star small forward in Jim Paxson already on the roster, and a promising young shooting guard in Clyde Drexler set to take in a minutes increase at shooting guard, they chose Bowie.

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And Bowie, speaking in 2012, relayed that even while sitting amongst his draft class on that night, he knew that something was wrong. That, "deep down inside I physically wasn't what these guys were."

His rookie season went swimmingly. Not to the tune of Jordan's 28.2 points per game and Rookie of the Year award, but as part of a more talented Portland collective featuring Drexler, Paxson, Kiki Vandeweghe and Mychal Thompson that shared the ball and won 42 games despite a very young roster. On top of that, Portland ranked seventh in offense and eighth in defensive efficiency that season, and probably should have won more games. The team's Expected Won/Loss Record of 49-33 details as much.

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