Sam Bowie (born March 17, 1961 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is a former NBA player who is best known for being selected ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft .

He played college basketball at the University of Kentucky. Drafted second overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1984 NBA draft, he went on to play ten seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers, New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. A well-regarded college player, he suffered serious leg injuries at Kentucky, and his injury problems continued into the early years of his NBA career. Although he recovered from these injuries and went on to play several more seasons, he was never able to shake the image of being a "draft bust".