Short answers, pulled from the story.
Akeem Olajuwon, a junior center from the University of Houston, was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets. The Rockets won a coin flip to earn the top pick. Olajuwon was Nigerian-born and became the second foreign-born player ever drafted first overall in NBA history.
Portland already had Jim Paxson, an All-Star shooting guard, and had recently drafted Clyde Drexler in 1983, making another shooting guard seem redundant. The Blazers used the second pick on Bowie to address a need at center. Bowie's career was subsequently limited to 139 games over five seasons with Portland due to five leg surgeries.
Five players from the 1984 NBA draft were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Akeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, and Oscar Schmidt. The first four were also named to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players list in 1996.
Oscar Schmidt was a Brazilian player selected 131st overall by the New Jersey Nets. He declined to play in the NBA to continue representing Brazil in international competition, which NBA rules at the time made impossible. He played in five Olympic Games and scored a combined career total of 49,703 points across club and national team play.
Carl Lewis, a track and field athlete from the University of Houston, was selected 208th by the Chicago Bulls in the tenth round despite never having played college basketball. He chose to remain in athletics, winning nine Olympic gold medals and eight World Championship gold medals.
The 1984 NBA draft was the last before the introduction of the draft lottery in 1985 and the last to air nationally on the USA Network. It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden on the 19th of June 1984, ran for ten rounds with 228 total selections, and was the first draft overseen by commissioner David Stern.