One might not recognize Jawann Oldham’s name, but he unknowingly played a massive role in the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 90s. His tenure in the Windy City was short, as he shared the court with Michael Jordan for just two years. Despite limited starts during a career where he was a backup majority of the time, Oldham became a late bloomer, but unfortunately, the Seattle University alum has now passed away at 68.

Oldham died in Atlanta on Monday. His childhood friend, Philip Petty, described that Jawann did not incline to any sport, let alone basketball. He was the tallest kid who was athletically gifted and needed convincing from Frank Ahern and Fred Harrison, who coached at Cleveland High. “That day changed his life forever,” Petty said. “I mean, one day he’s just an average kid like everybody else, and the next day he’s this superstar who is playing with Michael Jordan.”

For Cleveland High, Jawann Oldham quickly became the centerpiece and led the Eagles to back-to-back state titles and a 50-1 record. The Seattle Times dubbed them the Team of the Century, and Cleveland retired their jerseys in 2011. Even for Seattle U, his contributions were evident. Despite scholarship offers from Louisville and Washington State, Oldham stayed home and played four years (1976-80) at Seattle U.

He averaged 14.8 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 52.4% on field goals in 102 games. Moreover, he is second on the program’s all-time rebounding list (965) behind Elgin Baylor and is 10th among career scorers (1,530 points). So, the University proudly inducted him into the school’s Hall of Fame for his dedication to the program. His NBA career wasn’t that successful as Oldham went from being the 18th pick in the second round in the 1980 draft to starting just 69 of 329 games.

Oldham wanted more, so he even hopped on and off on 8 teams during his 10-year career. Denver, Houston, Chicago, New York Knicks, Sacramento, Orlando, Los Angeles Lakers, and Indiana. His best season was when Michael Jordan was in his second year, 1985. Oldham averaged a career-high in points (7.4) and rebounds (5.9) while ranking sixth in the league with 2.6 blocks per game.

Oldham always felt he never got the chance to contribute offensively to the team. Even his childhood friend narrated the same sentiment.“He was one of the great basketball players to come out of Seattle,” Petty said. “He was a versatile player for his height. He was probably one of the fastest centers at that time. He could score when he had to, but man he could block shots.”

But that was another reason why Oldham grew frustrated with his role in Chicago and demanded a trade. The Bulls traded him to the Knicks in 1987 for the No.8 pick in the 1987 Draft. The franchise was not high on the draft class, and they were just looking for a scorer to complement MJ. Enter Scottie Pippen.

Bulls GM Jerry Krause became so enamored by Pippen that he made it his priority to draft him. But he knew he wouldn’t last till the No.8 pick, so he made a deal with the Seattle Supersonics. The Supersonics agreed to take Pippen at No. 5 and swap him to the Bulls for No. 8, which would be used for the 6’11 Olden Polynice and a future second-round draft pick going to Seattle. Then, with their own pick (No.10) the Bulls selected Horace Grant. And that was the start of a dynasty.

That’s how Oldham played a role in the Pippen landing in the Windy City. With stints in multiple cities, various fans and former players connected with his journey.

Jawann Oldham receives his flowers

Olden Polynice, who was traded by the Bulls to acquire Pippen in 1987, was taken aback by the news of the passing of Jawann Oldham. “Aww, man. He was such a good dude. Damn damn damn.”

A fan also shared that he even got to interact with the former Bulls star, who was cordial enough to give his autograph. “Damn. Got his autograph on a plane once. Classic Bull.” Although his time in Chicago ended with issues with the team’s decision to get benched, Michael Jordan supported Oldham after the trade to the Knicks. “Well, Jawann was ready to leave. He and the front office didn’t get along well, and sometimes that affects you mentally. So he really couldn’t get into the season or get with our team mentally. So, I think it helped him out a whole lot.”

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Then the 29-year-old Oldham moved to New York, but even that move didn’t pan out well. He signed a six-year, $1.92 million offer sheet from the Knicks, but eventually was backup to Ewing, Cartwright, and even Pat Cummings, so he requested a trade. “I’m tired of being the fourth man on the totem pole,” said Oldham.” It’s like stacking three aircraft carriers in the harbor. I had a lot of fun running (in an open style game) with Michael Jordan and Orlando Woolridge.”

Yet one of the Knicks fans’ pages added, “RIP Jawann Oldham.” It was alongside a photo of him blocking a shot. Another fan simply painted the picture of how many legends Oldham shared the hard court with. “Got to play Michael and Magic, not many have said that.” At the beginning of the 25-26 season, a Matas Buzelis record helped more fans get acquainted with Oldham’s stat line.

Buzelis joined Pau Gasol, Tyson Chandler, Jawann Oldham, Artis Gilmore, Nate Thurmond, Joakim Noah, and Michael Jordan as the only players in franchise history to ever block two or more shots in seven-straight games. Another netizen added, “Rest in peace, Jawann. Your legacy lives on.”

After a decade in the NBA, Oldham decided to take the learnings and started coaching overseas. He even had his academy in Abu Dhabi, where he had lived for the last 20 years.