RANKED! The 8 Best Drafts in NBA History
G'day tribe. A few days ago I posted the first part of the best draft classes in NBA history which you can check out here.
Stars like James Harden and Steph Curry both came from the 2009 draft. In 1998 we were blessed with Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce all in the same draft. Let's take a look at the final part.
4. 1985 NBA Draft
One of the best drafts in NBA history was the draft class of 1985 and its often overlooked because it followed the class of 84' featuring Michael Jordan.
Both Patrick Ewing (1st) and Karl Malone (13th) are the greatest players who never won an NBA championship and the pair earned 25 All-Star appearances and 21 All-NBA teams between them.
Xavier McDaniel (4th), Chris Mullin (7th), Detlef Schrempf (8th), and Charles Oakley (9th) were all draft class highlights picked in the top 10, earning ten All-Star appearances between them all.
Joe Dumars (18th) formed one of the fiercest backcourts with Isiah Thomas, helping create one of the biggest rivalries in the NBA against Chicago and winning back-to-back championships. Thomas and Michael Jordan in particular held one of the most fiercest individual NBA rivalries in history. A.C. Green (23rd) was a late first round pick and won three titles with the Lakers.
Players selected in the 1985 #NBADraft scored 315,923 career pts, almost 40,000 more than any other draft class. pic.twitter.com/wOsfg6h2JS
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 25, 2015
3. 2003 NBA Draft
The 2003 draft is one of the best drafts in NBA history featuring LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, all drafted in the top five. James, Wade and Bosh all teamed up to win the 2012 and 2013 championships with the Miami Heat.
Outside of the four there isn't much overall depth in the 2003 draft class. Darko Milicic is the biggest draft bust of all time and was selected with the second pick by the Clippers.
Chris Kaman (6th), David West (18th), Josh Howard (29th), Mo Williams (47th) and Kyle Korver (51st) did all manage to earn All-Star appearances. Korver became one of the biggest surprises becoming one of the best-three point shooters of all-time.
16 years ago today, the Pistons selected Darko Milicic instead of Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh with the 2nd pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
He averaged 1.4 PTS, 1.3 REB during his rookie year and the Pistons still won the NBA Championship. pic.twitter.com/h3ezysKYBm — Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) June 26, 2019
2. 1984 NBA Draft
Michael Jordan headlines one of the best drafts in NBA history. Jordan was selected third overall in the 1984 draft after Hakeem Olajuwon, the all-time blocks leader who the Rockets tanked for who was picked second.
Sam Bowie was picked third and is one of the biggest NBA draft busts of all time. John Stockton was selected at 16th and is one of the greatest single franchise NBA players of all time as well as the all-time leader for both assists and steals.
Barkley was drafted fifth and along with Jordan, Stockton and Olajuwon, the four players combined for 8 NBA championships, 47 All-Star games, 45 All-NBA teams, 7 MVP awards and have all been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The 1984 NBA draft is still the best draft class ever pic.twitter.com/LdwAFwqlSk
— Retro Awesomeville (@retro_70s) May 3, 2022
1. 1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA draft is the best in history. The first six picks from the draft class were Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, and Antoine Walker.
It gets even better with Kobe Bryant the 13th pick, who was followed by Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash and Jermaine O’Neal. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was picked at 20th and Derek Fisher at 24th.
Kobe was the real star of the draft class becoming a two-time MVP, 18-time All-Star and winning five NBA titles with the Lakers. Both Iverson and Nash were MVPs and are among the best players who never won an NBA championship. Ray Allen is also one of the greatest three-point shooter of all time.
Is this the best draft class ever? 26 YEARS AGO TODAY, The 1996 NBA Draft!
1: Iverson 2: Camby 3: Shareef 4: Marbury 5: Ray Allen 6: Antoine Walker 13: Kobe 14: Peja 15: Nash 17: J. O'Neal 20: Big Z 24: Fisher Undrafted: Ben Wallace pic.twitter.com/iIe4z1OZky — Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) June 26, 2022
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Wolfgang Sport started in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.
I love the 1996 Draft, there is so much talent.
Solid list, '03 was nuts!
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