1984 NBA Draft, Round 1: Charles Barkley
The 1984 NBA Draft is considered by many to be one of the league's greatest draft classes, giving entry to all-time greats such as Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley. Despite the number of future Hall of Famers, the Bullets were not so lucky in 1984.
Washington selected Melvin Turpin from the University of Kentucky with the draft's sixth overall pick, just one pick shy of nabbing Barkley, the Philadelphia 76ers' selection. Washington traded Turpin to the Cleveland Cavaliers later on draft night.
Barkley's 16-year NBA career included 11 All-NBA selections. The 6'6" forward was named Most Valuable Player for the 1992-93 season, in which he averaged 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. Barkley led the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals during the subsequential playoffs, losing in six games to the reigning-champion Chicago Bulls.
1985 NBA Draft, Round 1: Karl Malone
After an unlucky year at the 1984 NBA Draft, the Bullets hoped to make things right at the 1985 event. Unfortunately, bad turned to worse, as Washington reached for Kenny Green of Wake Forest one pick before the Utah Jazz selected future 14-time All-Star Karl Malone.
Green played just 60 games before being bought out and released by Philadelphia in 1987, the fewest of any player taken in the first round of the 1985 NBA Draft. The Bullets general manager at the time, Bob Ferry, lost his job over the Green-Malone miscue.
When Malone decided to retire after the 2003-04 season, he was the second-highest scorer in NBA history, shy of only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Mailman won the league's MVP award twice and played in three NBA Finals series throughout his Hall of Fame career.