Pending a decision from Greg Oden, the 2007 NBA Draft will be one of the deepest classes in recent memory. But will it become known as the best? The standards are going to be high for Oden, Durant and Co., especially those laid out by the Draft class of 2003.
Wrapping up their collective fourth year in the League, the Class of ‘03 is taking over. Of that year’s “Big Four,” Dwyane Wade has already won an NBA championship and a Finals MVP; LeBron James is arguably the best all-around talent in the game, putting up Magic/Oscar-like numbers; Carmelo Anthony is challenging for a scoring crown; and Chris Bosh is one of the League’s handful of dependable 20-10 guys, leading an Eastern Conference contender in Toronto.
And all four of them — along with NBA All-Star Josh Howard, Team USA member Kirk Hinrich, Sixth Man of the Year front-runner Leandro Barbosa, reigning Three-Point Shootout champ Jason Kapono, T.J. Ford, David West, Luke Walton, Boris Diaw, Steve Blake, Chris Kaman, Jarvis Hayes, James Jones, Darko Milicic, Carlos Delfino, Mickael Pietrus and Brian Cook — play key roles on ‘07 playoff teams or teams still in the playoff picture as of Tuesday.
Then there’s Mo Williams, who will be one of the most coveted free agents on the market this summer; Team USA member Luke Ridnour; Kyle Korver, one of the League’s deadliest three-point specialists; Nick Collison, a starter in Seattle; Willie Green, a starter in Philly; Kendrick Perkins, one of the Celtics’ building blocks; and Travis Outlaw, still awaiting that breakout season in Portland and loaded with potential.
If they aren’t already, the Class of ‘03 is making a strong case as the best of the Dime Generation. Who’s the rest of the comp?
1999 — Elton Brand, Rip Hamilton, Matrix, Manu, Lamar Odom, Baron Davis, Stevie Franchise, Ron Artest, Jason Terry, AK-47, Dre Miller, James Posey, Corey Maggette.
1998 — Nowitzki, Pierce, Vince, Antawn Jamison, Rashard Lewis, Bibby, Al Harrington, White Chocolate, Larry Hughes, Ricky Buckets, Cat Mobley, Skip, Matt Harpring, Ruben Patterson.
1997 — Duncan, T-Mac, Billups, Tim Thomas, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Parker, Brevin Knight, Bobby Jackson, Antonio Daniels.
1996 — Kobe, Iverson, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Marbury, J.O., Camby, ‘Toine, Abdur-Rahim, Peja, Ilgauskas, Dampier, Derek Fisher.
1992 — Shaq, ‘Zo, Sprewell, Robert Horry, Jim Jackson, Christian Laettner, Malik Sealy, Doug Christie.
1987 — David Robinson, Reggie Miller, Scottie Pippen, Mark Jackson, Kevin Johnson, Reggie Lewis, Muggsy, Horace Grant, Kenny Smith, Sean Couch (what up, Bounce!)
1985 — Karl Malone, Ewing, Dumars, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, X-Man, Charles Oakley, Terry Porter, A.C. Green, Spud Webb, Mario Elie, Wayman Tisdale, Manute Bol.
1984 — Jordan, Hakeem, Stockton, Barkley, Sam Perkins, Alvin Robertson, Kevin Willis, Michael Cage, Jerome Kersey, Otis Thorpe, Oscar Schmidt, Steve “All Day” Burtt, Vern Fleming.
1982 — James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Sleepy Floyd, Terry Cummings, Ricky Pierce, Craig Hodges, Mark Eaton.
1981 — Isiah, Mark Aguirre, Tom Chambers, Rolando Blackman, Larry Nance, Danny Ainge, Buck Williams, Orlando Woolridge.
So which class is the best? Tell us your answer here or e-mail us at smack@dimemag.com, and some of the best responses will be printed in an upcoming issue of Dime.
*Dime reserves the right to edit entries for length and clarity.*
April 10th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
vince says:
great draft
you did forget:
First Round Player College
1. Milwaukee Glenn Robinson Purdue
2. Dallas Jason Kidd California
3. Detroit Grant Hill Duke
4. Minnesota Donyell Marshall Connecticut
5. Washington Juwan Howard Michigan
7. LA Clippers Lamond Murray California
8. Sacramento Brian Grant Xavier (Ohio)
10. LA Lakers Eddie Jones Temple
13. Denver Jalen Rose Michigan
15. Indiana Eric Piatkowski Nebraska
17. Portland Trail Aaron McKie Temple
23. Phoenix Wesley Person Auburn
26. New York (from Houston) Charlie Ward Florida State
30. Minnesota Howard Eisley Boston College
46. Milwaukee Voshon Lenard Minnesota
April 11th, 2007 at 2:20 am
joe says:
looking at stars and top heavy star draft classes
‘84 beats 2003 anyday of the week
gimme mj, stockton, barkley and the dream over bron, wade, melo and bosh
‘84 had the G.O.A.T, the most unique and multi talented PF of all time in sir charles, a top 5 centre all timer in the dream and a top 5 pg (and ast/stls leader) john stockton….
2003 has a lot to prove over the next 10 yrs
April 11th, 2007 at 5:40 am
kowtz says:
1984 - hands down the best…
- Michael Jordan, put him in the 2k1 draft, and it will be the best draft class…
- 1984 was the last chance a playoff team entered a top 16 pick… Coin Flip rule… Great teams have equal opportunity to become better…
- let’s look at it pound for pound, Jordan vs. LeBron and Wade? Hakeem vs. CB4? Sir Charles vs. Melo? How about John Stockton vs. Kirk Heinrich? Even Sam Bowie would take Darko to school, shooting treys on his face, remember he had some skills beyond the arc…
- how about 5 vs. 5?
1984: C - Hakeem PF - Sam Perkins/Otis Thorpe SF - Charles Barkley SG - Michael Jordan PG - Stockton
2003: C - CB4 PF - Darko SF - LeBron/Melo SG - Wade PG - Kirk Heinrich
- how about on international games
Original Dream Team vs. “Supposedly champions but bronze is good anyways” Team
- 8 out of 10 championships over the 90’s came from either The dream or his airness… plus Stockton and Sir Charles were serious contenders…
- plus, 1984 class had some sports celeb crossovers… Carl Lewis (Track and Field Phenom)was actually the 208th pick by the Chicago Bulls although he never really signed a contract…
- The 1984 NBA Draft resulted in four future members of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team: Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton. These four players accumulated SEVEN MVP awards, 23 All-NBA First Team appearances and 45 NBA All-Star Game selections. (Wikipedia)
April 11th, 2007 at 5:50 am
kowtz says:
Oh Yeah… How about the 1993 draft class that was supposedly headed for stardom… but was a disspointment, either because of character issues or injuries…
Chris Webber – 1st
- Serious dissapointment in Sacto and Phillie, but trying to make it up in Motor City
Shawn Bradley – 2nd
- another 8 foot (7′5″) wonder nobody…
Penny Hardaway – 3rd
- seen at some point to succeed his airness, now basically pleading for somebody to pick him up due to injury problems… I think lil’ penny would take him to school though…
Jamal Mashburn – 4th
- Triple J in Dallas did’nt work out… Fell to injury in Hornets…
Isaiah Rider – 5th
- Problem Child… well trying to make up currently… at least he has a championship ring…
Vin Baker – 8th
- Booze…
Allan Houston – 11th
- Hah! hits game winners… promised multiple championships with the knicks after signing 20+M$ contract… injury… buyout… that’s all I can remember of his career…
April 11th, 2007 at 5:52 am
kowtz says:
BTW…
who’s the best second-plus round draft pick superstar????
here’s a short list:
1979 Bill Lambier – third 65
1986 Dražen Petrović – third 60
1986 Jeff Hornacek – second 46
1986 Dennis Rodman – second 27
1989 Cliff Robinson – second 36
1993 Nick Van Exel – second 37
1997 Stephen Jackson – second 43
1998 Rashard Lewis – second 32
1998 Cuttino Mobely – second 41
1999 Manu Ginobili – second 57
2000 Michael Redd – second 43
2001 Gilbert Arenas – second 31
2002 Carlos Boozer – second 35
April 11th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Big Stat says:
96 draft has 3 hof, and 3 first tier superstars and 7 game changing specialists. I would def put that draft against 03′
April 11th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Andrew says:
Jordan, Hakeem, Stockton, and Barkley alone make 84 the best class of all time. Jordan - widely seen as the best to ever play the game. Hakeem is statistically among the top 3-4 centers to ever play, and is the all-time leader in blocks. It looks as though Stocktons assist numbers will never be broken, and if I remember right he also is the all-time steals leader. Add in Barkley, one of the most entertaining players in the last 20 years, and his career stats are alsom among the top 20-25 in scoring and rebounding. Those are 4 sure-fire hall of fame players.
I just don’t see how this team can be beat. 2003 looks good, but they have a LONG way to go before showing they can compete with the 84 draft.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Dave says:
Until the class of 2003 ages a little bit, I’m gonna have to go with either ‘85 or ‘96. I think there might be a bias towards the latter classes, based on the fact the the guys are still in the League, but I think that those two classes combine the perfect blend of all-time greats, very-good-players-for-their-era, and one of a kind players. Take a look at ‘85, for instance. You’ve got a few 50 greatest, a couple Hall of Famers, the best European player till Dirk hit, and some characters like Spud Webb and Manute Bol.
The other classes might have a couple of one category, but not anything at all in another. Again, I’ll use an example. The ‘92 draft might have started out way strong, but after Shaq and Zo, are there even any Hall of Famers, let alone 50 greatest? I don’t see any. Meanwhile, ‘96 has some champions, some 60 greatest (if/when they do that), not to mention some guys whose style might not see the like of for a long time (Nash, Ray Allen). Furthermore, there’s a couple guys in that class who helped redefine their position or role in the NBA: Antoine Walker (the shooting big man), Peja (European shooter as a featured weapon). Then there’s guys that didn’t just change the way the game is played (Nash, Iverson, Marbury), but also the way the Association is perceived (Hip hop culture, “white”/pass first basketball).
It just seems to me that the rest of the classes either lack great players, very good players, or unique players. Until the ‘03 class starts winning some championships, I think that those two years are the class of the drafts.
April 11th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Hitman says:
the 06 class could eventually turn out to be the best ever class, but ‘96 and ‘84 are in the front running. i think my edge has to go to ‘96 over ‘84, but next year i think ‘03 will leap frog the other two by: Melo ups his scoring and improves on defense, Flash keeps leading his team to the playoffs, even after shaq retires, King James becomes a clutch shooter, CB4 offically continues being all-star PF in the game, Darko starts living up to the hype, Hinrich continues to be consistent, and TJ Ford and David West step their game up and become leaders
April 11th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Jawn` says:
Class of 1984….hands down. 2003 *may* get there, but look at the hall of famers from 1984. 2003 has a LONG way to go to actually compare to the class of ‘84….they do have the talent to get there, but need a few more years of seasoning.
The class of ‘84 (retired, old, out of shape) would still put on a heck of a game against the class of ‘03!
Let’s suit them up this summer for a charity game!
April 11th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Dave says:
Hate to say it, but you ‘85 backers are off. Let’s start with a comparison of the four stars of those drafts: Malone vs. Barkley (wash). Ewing vs. Olajuwon (wash). Dumars vs. Stockton (arguably a wash, since Dumars won titles while Stockton had better stats). Mullin vs. Jordan…anyway. If you were going to go with “who had the better stars?”, you’d probably have to go with ‘84.
But that wasn’t the question.
The question was, “which was the better draft CLASS?” And by that measure, ‘84 pales in comparison. Detlef Schrempf (multi-allstar, 6th man of year) vs. Oscar Schmidt (never played a game in the NBA). Mario Elie (marginal player on some good teams) vs. Otis Thorpe (marginal player on ONE good team that Elie was also on). Terry Porter (above average player on good teams) vs. Jerome Kersey (above average player on one of the same good teams as Porter). Oakley and McDaniel (good players on good teams) vs. Willis and Robertson (good players on good teams).
After the HoF-ers in both classes, I’d narrowly give it to ‘85. From there, though, it gets ugly. The last two players Dime mentions for ‘84 are Michael Cage, Steve “All Day” Burtt, and Vern Fleming. Cage had one rebounding title, Burtt’s career was almost non-existent, and Fleming’s distinguishing characteristic is that he played in the most games without committing a flagrant foul.
Compare that to Manute Bol (one of the greatest shotblockers of all time), Spudd Webb (Dunk Champ and good player on some Hawks teams, not to mention completing the weirdest height tandems in these drafts, with Bol), Tisdale (above average player for his career), and finally, A.C. Green, the leading rebounder for several title teams (not to mention one of the more famous virgins in recent history).
Yes, Michael Jordan was better than Chris Mullin. I concede that the draft with the best player in it goes to ‘84. But if you’re looking for the best top to bottom DRAFT, you have to wait one more year. I’m out like ‘84…
April 11th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
kevin says:
i would have to say that the class of o6 is da best here are a few names:
kobe bryant
allen iverson
ray allen
antoine walker
steve nash
walter mccarty
stephon marbury
marcus camby
peja stojakavic
jermaine oneal
i might have missed one or two cats but look at all those. all these guys but two are nba all stars and camby should be one. so compare this draft to 84. it blows out 03 by far.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
kevin says:
oh i forgot about ilgauskas and shareef abdur rahim. these are two other nba all stars
April 11th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Kudaben says:
Are we comparing the classes by the talent level coming in to at the time of the draft or by the best seen level of performance to date?
I’m riding with the class of 1996.
If I had to make a twelve man roster out of each Draft…They would both be rediculous, but guys like Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Ilgauskas, Kittles, Fisher, and Wright, those second/third tier players that aren’t recognized for being all-star caliber at one point or being competitive starters that make the difference. If Compare both classes for productivity at year 4, I’d still take 1996.
1999-2000
Iverson - 28ppg 5apg 4rpg 2spg, on the brink of MVP status
Abdul-Rahim - 20pg 10rpg 3ast, 1blk, 1spg and was durable at that point in his career.
Marbury - 22ppg 8apg 3rebs 2spg at all-star status
Ray Allen - 22ppg 4rpg 4apg getting to all-star status
Kobe - 22ppg 6rpg 5ast 1spg First-team All defense, Second-team All NBA, Champion
Antoine Walker 20ppg 8rpg 4apg 1spg - all-star status
That’s not mentioning what Nash went on to become, J.O. was right about to be traded and given a chance to play, Kittles was like Raja Bell of the Nets, Ilgauskas was hurt but was very talented at the time, Marcus Camby was what he was, but he still balled when healthy, Peja on the brink of actually being an effective 20ppg scorer, and other servicable great role players like JYD, D. Fisher, and Dampier
I know LeBron is an Icon, D-Wade’s a Champ, Melo is the “people’s champ”, Bosh is crushing, Josh Howard is the total package, but I’m just not going to jump on the newest and latest and choose the 2003 class. We are all still anticipating so much from the 03 draft class that I think it clouds our memories on how good some player were in 96 and that goes for the guys that were expected to be contributors, but injuries and poor judgement limited them (i.e. John Wallace, Lorenzen Wright, Tony Delk, Dontae’ Jones, Shandon Anderson, Malik Rose, Jeff McInnis were not the “garbage” the stats suggest!)
April 12th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Dave says:
‘96 was definitely in the running, in my own mind, anyway. any of the classes of the ’90s, though, have a similar problem as the ones of the ’00s: not enough historical perspective yet. we still don’t know what most of them are going to end up like. we don’t know if, 10 years from now, we’re going to remember the lower rung of those all-stars - much like some of the other “stars” of the old drafts. if they don’t stick in your memory, they probably weren’t all that great to begin with; they were just nice players. i imagine that dampier and abdur-rahim are going to end up like that.
furthermore, i think that we should only be counting how their nba careers turned out. think about it - if we went on college talent, every single draft would be stocked with…oh, i don’t know, about 50-60 nasty college basketball players.
April 12th, 2007 at 10:07 am
big kevo says:
i can agree with those analogies. but if shareef had stayed healthy he woulda been a 20 10 guy his whole career. but their are gonna be about 7 guys from da 96 draft that u will be able to look back and be like man da guy was da biz.
April 12th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Dave says:
Kevo, i definitely agree. There are a ton of players from that draft that were in the “very good” category. How many are great, though? How many won championships, MVPs, stat-titles? Kobe is legitimately great. Nash is a two time MVP, might get to the Finals this year, and has played on some really good teams. He’s probably great, too. Iverson has been an MVP, NBA Finalist, led the league in various things. He’s a great.
After those three, though, I don’t think anyone will turn out to be great. Very good? Yes. And there’s nothing wrong with being “one of the best players of his time”, like the rest of them are. That’s why I have them as 1a, after ‘85.
April 14th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
kevo says:
but ray allen is great. he is second all time in threes. stephon might not be great to some of you but he is one of two players in nba history to average 20 points and 8 assists. jermaine oneal is great because of his ability to change the game defensively.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Dave says:
The key to knowing whether or not those guys are great is time, unfortunately. Ray Allen might be great, yes - I envision him being the all-time leader in 3s.
Stephon Marbury? I don’t think so. Not only has he not had much team success, but I also predict that he’ll dip below those lofty career averages. In fact, I just looked his NBA.com player profile, and he’s averaging 19.9 points for his career, and 7.9 assists ( http://www.nba.com/playerfile/stephon_marbury/career_stats.html ). You know - unless you think that the Knicks are in for a big turnaround next year, and both of his stat categories will go up.
Jermaine O’Neal is currently viewed as a defensive game-changer, but I don’t know if you can forecast greatness over the rest of his career based on a couple of seasons.
Again, I think we just have to wait and see on the classes of the 90s.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
dinglebury says:
ugh, it only took until this year to be reminded once again how the ‘wolves effed up that marbury-allen draft trade what with KG and allen FINALLY playing together. man, the ‘wolves front office sucks.
March 24th, 2008 at 4:18 am
andrew says:
Dave,
You’re basing your comparisons on individual matchups are unfair. If you do that kind of comparisons then you should have said the ‘96 draft is the best not the 85. ‘84 draft is the best becoz they have winners. They have more big dogs in their respective teams that win.