Best draft year?

[CanadianSteve]

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."

 

[Mr Saab]

hard to judge yrs so early
Remember 1992 class? early on people said it was the best (in no order)

shaq
zo
horry
laettner
weatherspoon
laphonso ellis
jim jackson
sprewell

now that class is pretty sub par except for shaq. Zo was good, but health problems got to him. The others have been avg. Jim Jackson has played for 10 clubs!!!

 

[attamarrap]

my vote is for 1996


1. Allen Iverson, Georgetown Philadelphia
2. Marcus Camby, Massachusetts Toronto
3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, California Vancouver
4. Stephon Marbury, Georgia Tech Milwaukee (1)
5. Ray Allen, Connecticut Minnesota (1)
6. Antoine Walker, Kentucky Boston
7. Lorenzen Wright, Memphis L.A. Clippers
8. Kerry Kittles, Villanova New Jersey
9. Samaki Walker, Louisville Dallas
10. Erick Dampier, Mississippi State Indiana
11. Todd Fuller, North Carolina State Golden State
12. Vitaly Potapenko, Wright State Cleveland
13. Kobe Bryant, Lower Merion HS (Pa.) Charlotte
14. Predrag Stojakovic, Serbia & Montenegro Sacramento
15. Steve Nash, Santa Clara Phoenix
16. Tony Delk, Kentucky Charlotte
17. Jermaine O'Neal, Eau Claire HS (S.C.) Portland
18. John Wallace, Syracuse New York
19. Walter McCarty, Kentucky New York
20. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Lithuania Cleveland
21. Dontae' Jones, Mississippi State New York
22. Roy Rogers, Alabama Vancouver
23. Efthimis Rentzias, Greece Denver
24. Derek Fisher, Arkansas-Little Rock L.A. Lakers
25. Martin Muursepp, Estonia Utah (2)
26. Jerome Williams, Georgetown Detroit
27. Brian Evans, Indiana Orlando
28. Priest Lauderdale, Central State Atlanta
29. Travis Knight, Connecticut Chicago

thats the bomb

 

[attamarrap]

1. Elton Brand, Duke Chicago
2. Steve Francis, Maryland Vancouver
3. Baron Davis, UCLA Charlotte
4. Lamar Odom, Rhode Island L.A. Clippers
5. Jonathan Bender, Picayune HS (Miss.) Toronto
6. Wally Szczerbiak, Miami (Ohio) Minnesota
7. Richard Hamilton, Connecticut Washington
8. Andre Miller, Utah Cleveland
9. Shawn Marion, UNLV Phoenix
10. Jason Terry, Arizona Atlanta
11. Trajan Langdon, Duke Cleveland
12. Aleksandar Radojevic, Barton County CC Toronto
13. Corey Maggette, Duke Seattle (1)
14. William Avery, Duke Minnesota
15. Frederic Weis, France New York
16. Ron Artest, St. John's Chicago
17. Cal Bowdler, Old Dominion Atlanta
18. James Posey, Xavier Denver
19. Quincy Lewis, Minnesota Utah
20. Dion Glover, Georgia Tech Atlanta
21. Jeff Foster, Southwest Texas State Golden State (2)
22. Kenny Thomas, New Mexico Houston
23. Devean George, Augsburg (Minn.) L.A. Lakers
24. Andrei Kirilenko, Russia Utah
25. Tim James, Miami Miami
26. Vonteego Cummings, Pittsburgh Indiana (2)
27. Jumaine Jones, Georgia Atlanta (3)
28. Scott Padgett, Kentucky Utah
29. Leon Smith, M.L. King HS (Ill.) San Antonio (4)

some quality there

 

[pug306]

How about 1984 Draft Class (for those who remember that far back)

Hall of Fame (these guys are going, don't have to wait & see)

1. Hakeem Olajuwon
3. Michael Jordan
5. Charles Barkley
16. John Stockton

All Stars (made a team)

7. Alvin Robertson
9. Otis Thorpe
11. Kevin Willis

Useful Players

4. Sam Perkins
13. Jay Humphries
14. Michael Cage
46. Jerome Kersey

there are plenty other guys in the '84 draft that had good careers in the NBA too.

last years picks so far have done well,
but another decade & we will see if 4 of them can make the Hall of Fame

 

[edabomb]

4. Sam Perkins

Big Smooth was the man!!!!!!! Most style out of any NBA player ever!!!!!!

 

[Mr Saab]

1984 was the cream of the crop
but you forgot sam bowie ;-)

interesting to note that the miami heat were after Jim Jackson (traded to the suns from houston) and still chasing zo mourning. IF the heat had signed those 2 they would have had the top 4 picks from 1992 on their roster. They have shaq and laettner on their roster.

 

[CanadianSteve]

hard to judge yrs so early
Remember 1992 class? early on people said it was the best (in no order)

shaq
zo
horry
laettner
weatherspoon
laphonso ellis
jim jackson
sprewell

now that class is pretty sub par except for shaq. Zo was good, but health problems got to him. The others have been avg. Jim Jackson has played for 10 clubs!!!

Horry has had a good career, especially as a playoff performer. Laettner has had a long solid career, and Spree has had his moments. I know what you mean though, it didn't produce as many big stars as expected, aside from Shaq and Zo.

1984 is indeed the gold standard. If you look at 1980-85, the talent that came out of those years is amazing. Many of the best players of that era tried out for the 1984 US Olympic team, the best of the Olympic teams that had college players. Jordan and Ewing were the stars of that team. The most famous cut from the team was Charles Barkley, but John Stockton, Karl Malone and AC Green also didn't make it. The early 80s definitely had a stronger base of talent than the second half of the decade.

 

[Mr Saab]

[Horry has had a good career, especially as a playoff performer. Laettner has had a long solid career, and Spree has had his moments. I know what you mean though, it didn't produce as many big stars as expected, aside from Shaq and Zo.

1992 was supposed to be the best as far as draft classes is concerned. I have magazines from back then comparing the 2 yrs (1992 nd 1984) in about 1995.
Both yrs have done their time and i would say for sure that 1992 has been average at best.
Last yrs looks very promising, but anything can happen.

 

[CanadianSteve]

2 other great drafts, though not quite as good as 84:

1981 NBA Draft, First Round


First Round Player College
1. Dallas Mavericks Mark Aguirre DePaul
2. Detroit Pistons Isiah Thomas Indiana
3. New Jersey Nets Buck Williams Maryland
4. Atlanta Hawks Al Wood North Carolina
5. Seattle SuperSonics Danny Vranes Utah
6. Chicago Bulls Orlando Woolridge Notre Dame
7. Kansas City Kings Steve Johnson Oregon State
8. San Diego Clippers Tom Chambers Utah
9. Dallas Mavericks Rolando Blackman Kansas State
10. New Jersey Nets Albert King Maryland
11. Washington Bullets Frank Johnson Wake Forest
12. Detroit Pistons Kelly Tripucka Notre Dame
13. Utah Jazz Danny Schayes Syracuse
14. Indiana Pacers Herb Williams Ohio State
15. Portland Trail Blazers Jeff Lamp Virginia
16. Portland Trail Blazers Darnell Valentine Kansas
17. Kansas City Kings Kevin Loder Alabama State
18. New Jersey Nets Ray Tolbert Indiana
19. Los Angeles Lakers Mike McGee Michigan
20. Phoenix Suns Larry Nance Clemson
21. Milwaukee Bucks Alton Lister Arizona State
22. Philadelphia 76ers Franklin Edwards Cleveland State
23. Boston Celtics Charles Bradley Wyoming

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1982 NBA Draft, First Round

First Round Player College
1. Los Angeles Lakers James Worthy North Carolina
2. San Diego Clippers Terry Cummings DePaul
3. Utah Jazz Dominique Wilkins Georgia
4. Dallas Mavericks Bill Garnett Wyoming
5. Kansas City Kings LaSalle Thompson Texas
6. New York Knicks Trent Tucker Minnesota
7. Chicago Bulls Quintin Dailey San Francisco
8. Indiana Pacers Clark Kellogg Ohio State
9. Detroit Pistons Cliff Levingston Wichita State
10. Atlanta Hawks Keith Edmonson Purdue
11. Portland Trail Blazers Lafayette Lever Arizona State
12. Cleveland Cavaliers John Bagley Boston College
13. New Jersey Nets Eric Floyd Georgetown
14. Golden State Warriors Lester Conner Oregon State
15. Phoenix Suns David Thirdkill Bradley
16. Houston Rockets Terry Teagle Baylor
17. Kansas City Kings Brook Steppe Georgia Tech
18. Detroit Pistons Ricky Pierce Rice
19. Denver Nuggets Rob Williams Houston
20. Milwaukee Bucks Paul Pressey Tulsa
21. New Jersey Nets Eddie Phillips Alabama
22. Philadelphia 76ers Mark McNamara California
23. Boston Celtics Darren Tillis Cleveland State

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2 best players ever taken 1-2 in the draft? 1960 Oscar Robertson, Jerry West

 

[Mr Saab]

1981 was better than 1982

blackman
isiah
nance
aguire
buck williams
chambers
woolridge (was good his 1st 6-7 yrs)

worst draft? 1989 or 1990

 

[CanadianSteve]

I don't know Charlie, the 82 draft was very deep:

1982 NBA Draft, First Round

Superstars:

James Worthy
Terry Cummings
Dominique Wilkins

solid, long careers:

LaSalle Thompson
Trent Tucker
Cliff Levingston
Lafayette Lever
John Bagley
Eric Floyd
Terry Teagle
Ricky Pierce
Paul Pressey

very good player cut short by injury:
Clark Kellogg

played Chewbacca in Star Wars films (I think):
Mark McNamara

talented, but ruined career with drugs:
Quintin Dailey

 

[Mr Saab]

might have been deep (debatable) but look at the talent on the 81 roster that i named. Those players alone should surpass the 82 draft.

Mark Mcnamara never played chewbecca.

 

[CanadianSteve]

I remember reading that Mcnamara did some work in Hollywood while with the Lakers. Something in a costume playing a huge creature. Could he have been a stand in for Chewbacca? Or maybe it was another big NBA player.

I think a game between the 81 and 82 draft all-stars would be close. No great center in either draft, and the 82 draft lacked a great pg, but otherwise the talent is close.

 

[CanadianSteve]

I googled for McNamara and found he is an assistant coach at a small school in California. I emailed the head coach to ask if big Mark ever worked in a movie. We'll see if he replies to my crazy question.

 

[Mr Saab]

chewbacca was played by peter mayhew.
i would take the 81 draft and easily
isiah, blackman
nance, buck williams, aguirre,

 

[CanadianSteve]

Worthy, Nique at forward
Cummings to play center since neither team has a real one, backed up by Lasalle Thompson
Fat Lever and Pressey at guard, backed up by Sleepy, Ricky Pierce and Tucker.

81's starting 5 is better, because of Isiah, but 82 has a better 10 man team.

 

[Marduk]

Going on recent history 96 looks like a very good year. I like picks 13, 14, 17.

I'm sure Dallas would still be happy with Samaki Walker. :lol:

 

[Mr Saab]

Worthy, Nique at forward
Cummings to play center since neither team has a real one, backed up by Lasalle Thompson
Fat Lever and Pressey at guard, backed up by Sleepy, Ricky Pierce and Tucker.

81's starting 5 is better, because of Isiah, but 82 has a better 10 man team.

82 has better depth yes, but dont just think 81 is better in the starting unit just because of isiah.
Buck williams was very good in the 80s for the nets and blazers
Larry Nance was a machine and is the all time leader for blocks for forwards
mark aguirre and blackman could shoot the lights out.

nique was good, no question, but he was just all scoring, no defence or rebounding. 81 owns for defence.

best starting 5 would have to be 1984 no question

jordan
stockton
sam bow...hakeem olajuwon ;-)
barkley
sam perkins

no starting unit touches that squad.

 

[CanadianSteve]

best starting 5 would have to be 1984 no question

jordan
stockton
sam bow...hakeem olajuwon ;-)
barkley
sam perkins

no starting unit touches that squad.

No argument with that.