CanadianSteve
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I don't know if I'm ready to call 2003 the best draft year yet, but here is an article about it:
Class can't be dismissed
Nothin' But Net | Best draft ever? Doug Smith makes a case for LeBron's 2003 coming-out party
One day we're all going to be old and grey well, one day we're going to be older and greyer and the conversation around the adult beverage establishment will turn to the NBA draft class of 2003.
It'll be talk of future hall of famer LeBron James, perennial all-stars Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony, Kirk Hinrich and Luke Ridnour, who helped turn around their franchises.
Who knows? We might even have to mention Darko Milicic, the forgotten No. 2 selection that year who didn't blossom until he shed the yoke put on him by coach Larry Brown and finally got to show his stuff.
The conversation will be legitimate because what we are seeing now is the emergence of one of the truly great draft classes of, well, ever.
"You probably could compare it to the year Bird and Magic and those guys came in (1979)," said Raptor coach Sam Mitchell. "It's an unbelievable draft. The future of the NBA was in that draft when you're talking about Chris and Dwyane Wade and LeBron and Carmelo and all those guys.
"A lot of guys can play. It's a good draft, good players."
What makes it outstanding, besides the skill, is the maturity of the top players. We refuse to believe that James was only 18 when he broke into the league, Bosh is the oldest 20-year-old imaginable and Wade carries himself like a 10-year-veteran most nights.
Bernie Bickerstaff, trying to mould something out of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, got a good first pick in Emeka Okafor and the coach sounds willing to let his kid be a kid.
"If you draft young players, you've got to live with their mistakes," he said. "If you're going to put them on the floor, the only thing you can ask for is the effort.
"You can't get caught up with, `He was the first pick in the draft' or `He was the second pick in the draft' or all the money he's making. The money doesn't make you a better basketball player when you're drafted. You still need the experience playing against this level of competition."