Is the 1996 Draft the best ever?

[indeedproceed]

96 was good but 2003 will probably go down as the best draft ever.

[xmuscularghandix]

No bold for Shareef Abdur-Rahim? He had some great years.

i was doing bold for the players that are still relevant, theres a couple guys on there that played for a while. but what i think makes it so good is that theres still so many of those players that are major players on playoff teams. starbury could be, he's just an idiot.

[BigAlTheFuture]

I still think 2003 is better.

Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony. Lebron is the best player in the league and Dwayne Wade isn't that far off behind him. I see 2 of the top 5 player in the NBA in the same draft class. Not to mention Bosh and Anthony.

Lebron > Kobe
Wade > Iverson

[RebusRankin]

1984, don't forget for quite awhile that draft had the best player in the NBA (Jordan) and two others in the top 5 (Barkley and Hakeem), plus the best pg (Stockton).

[Kwhit10]

I still think 2003 is better.

Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony. Lebron is the best player in the league and Dwayne Wade isn't that far off behind him. I see 2 of the top 5 player in the NBA in the same draft class. Not to mention Bosh and Anthony.

Lebron > Kobe
Wade > Iverson

Well 5 years after they were drafted 2 of the top 5 are from that draft class but look at the the class of 96 in 2000-2001. 

1   A. Iverson, PHI   71   42.0   31.1   
2   J. Stackhouse, DET   80   40.2   29.8   
3   S. O'Neal, LAL   74   39.5   28.7   
4   K. Bryant, LAL   68   40.9   28.5   
5   V. Carter, TOR   75   39.7   27.6   
6   C. Webber, SAC   70   40.5   27.1   
7   T. McGrady, ORL   77   40.1   26.8   
8   P. Pierce, BOS   82   38.0   25.3   
9   A. Jamison, GSW   82   41.4   24.9   
10   S. Marbury, NJN   67   38.2   23.9   
11   A. Walker, BOS   81   41.9   23.4   
12   K. Malone, UTH   81   35.7   23.2   
13   G. Payton, SEA   79   41.1   23.1   
14   T. Duncan, SAS   82   38.7   22.2   
15   G. Robinson, MIL   76   37.0   22.0   
16   K. Garnett, MIN   81   39.5   22.0   
17   R. Allen, MIL   82   38.2   22.0   
18   D. Nowitzki, DAL   82   38.1   21.8   
19   M. Finley, DAL   82   42.0   21.5   
20   A. McDyess, DEN   70   36.5   20.8   
21   S. Abdur-Rahim, VAN   81   40.0   20.5   

In 2001 you could argue Kobe and AI were in the top 5. 

[BigAlTheFuture]

I still think 2003 is better.

Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony. Lebron is the best player in the league and Dwayne Wade isn't that far off behind him. I see 2 of the top 5 player in the NBA in the same draft class. Not to mention Bosh and Anthony.

Lebron > Kobe
Wade > Iverson

Well 5 years after they were drafted 2 of the top 5 are from that draft class but look at the the class of 96 in 2000-2001. 

1   A. Iverson, PHI   71   42.0   31.1   
2   J. Stackhouse, DET   80   40.2   29.8   
3   S. O'Neal, LAL   74   39.5   28.7   
4   K. Bryant, LAL   68   40.9   28.5   
5   V. Carter, TOR   75   39.7   27.6   
6   C. Webber, SAC   70   40.5   27.1   
7   T. McGrady, ORL   77   40.1   26.8   
8   P. Pierce, BOS   82   38.0   25.3   
9   A. Jamison, GSW   82   41.4   24.9   
10   S. Marbury, NJN   67   38.2   23.9   
11   A. Walker, BOS   81   41.9   23.4   
12   K. Malone, UTH   81   35.7   23.2   
13   G. Payton, SEA   79   41.1   23.1   
14   T. Duncan, SAS   82   38.7   22.2   
15   G. Robinson, MIL   76   37.0   22.0   
16   K. Garnett, MIN   81   39.5   22.0   
17   R. Allen, MIL   82   38.2   22.0   
18   D. Nowitzki, DAL   82   38.1   21.8   
19   M. Finley, DAL   82   42.0   21.5   
20   A. McDyess, DEN   70   36.5   20.8   
21   S. Abdur-Rahim, VAN   81   40.0   20.5   

In 2001 you could argue Kobe and AI were in the top 5. 

They definitely were. But I would take prime Lebron and Wade over prime Kobe and AI anyday.

[Roy Hobbs]

I still think 2003 is better.

Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony. Lebron is the best player in the league and Dwayne Wade isn't that far off behind him. I see 2 of the top 5 player in the NBA in the same draft class. Not to mention Bosh and Anthony.

True, although looking at 1996, you have three players who have won MVP awards (Kobe, Iverson, and Nash).

Here's how 1996 breaks down:

4 MVPs

31 All-NBA selections

12 All-NBA first team

50 All-Star selections (10 different players)

4 All-Star MVPs

1 Defensive Player of the Year

12 All-Defense selections

8 All-Defense first team

1 Most Improved Player

6 scoring titles

3 assist leaders

3 blocks leaders

That's a pretty impressive list of credentials; it will be interesting to see if the '03 draft can match it.

[KCattheStripe]

Here's how 1996 breaks down:

4 MVPs

31 All-NBA selections

12 All-NBA first team

50 All-Star selections (10 different players)

4 All-Star MVPs

1 Defensive Player of the Year

12 All-Defense selections

8 All-Defense first team

1 Most Improved Player

6 scoring titles

3 assist leaders

3 blocks leaders

That's a pretty impressive list of credentials; it will be interesting to see if the '03 draft can match it.

A question. Who from '96 won the 'MIP award?

I would be surprised if the 2003 class can't equal or surpass a number of these. But a lot of it depends on Wade's durability.

4 MVP's shouldn't be a problem between LeBron, Wade and Bosh. I could see Bosh or Wade getting a few Karl Malone like MVP's down the line, where people just get bored voting for LeBron. The All NBA selections also aren't going to be much of a problem seeing as how they have the best SF and IMO the best 2 guard in the league right now and when Duncan and Garnett retire I'd be surprised if there's a better power forward than Bosh. All-Star selections are likewise not a problem, especially if Bosh keeps doing commercials.This class already has an MIP in Diaw.

The defensive accolades are where I think this class would have problems. There's no way anyone in this class leads the league in blocks unless Dwight Howard has a, god forbid, season ending injury. With the exception of LeBron and Wade , no one in this draft is an exceptional talent paired with recognition worthy defensive skills. As good as Pietrus may be, I doubt he will make that many All- Defensive teams. The same goes for Kaman. Also, no one from this draft will lead the league in assists so long as both Paul and Williams are healthy.

But where this draft is superior is the number of legitimate starters that fill this draft, let alone role players off the bench. The top 8, have all had starting jobs and seven of them are above average NBA players at least. This is not true for a great deal of drafts. When the last pick and the 18th are all stars and a key bench player to a playoff team, Korver on the Jazz, was taken with the 51st pick, you know this is an excellent draft.

Because this draft has stars that could each go down as top 5 in their positions ( LeBron, Wade and Bosh[Yes I do believe that]) coupled with solid All-Star Talent (Howard, West, Melo) Above average starters ( Kaman, Perk, Hinrich, Ford, Blake, Pietrus) and key bench players ( Diaw, Barbosa, Pavlovic, Outlaw, Delfino [when he was in the states] Kapono, Walton, ZaZa, Bonner, James Jones, Korver) I think this draft may go down as the one that had the most immediate impact on its teams, if not the greatest.

I would be very curious to look at the number of playoff games played by every member of this draft.

[Pierce4Prez]

"A question. Who from '96 won the 'MIP award?"


Jermaine O'Neal won it back in 01-02

[Donoghus]

'03 is going to go down as a top 3 class.  I don't see the '96 class that far up.  I'm still a huge fan of the '84 draft.  4 bonafide hall of famers there (Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton)and some quality NBA players (Perkins, Thorpe, Robertson, Cage).

'03 could very well turn into the best ever, though. We all know the big names but it's amazing how many of those guys drafted (1st AND 2nd rounders) are still in the league 5 years later.  Look at some of the 2nd rounders (Jason Kapono, Luke Walton, Steve Blake, Willie Green, Keith Bogans, Matt Bonner, Mo Williams, Kyle Korver).  That's impressive.

[BUTerrier]

Agreed on '84, it's the best ever in my opinion also. Conversely, I'm interested to hear your 15 better shooting guards in the history of the NBA that rank ahead of Kobe Bryant. I was talking top 10 period, not of his position.

Well, first, I was saying that Kobe would be Top 15, not that 15 SGs were better. Second, I said that more as a "hedging my bets" kind of thing, as in "Maybe someone will say he's not Top 5 . . . maybe they'll say he's not top 10 . . . but we can DEFINITELY all agree he's very certainly going to be Top 15." Contrast this with Jordan, who I'd argue was unquestionably Top 10 in everyone's mind (at the absolute worst) after 12 years in the league. Personally, I'd rank Kobe in the Top 10 historically, with the very real potential that he could crack the top 5.

What SGs would I rank ahead of Kobe historically? Well, let me preface this by saying that I'm only 24, and so I can't promise that I might not forget to list one or two of the old players from the 50s and 60s who would qualify for this list. Also, let it just be stated that there are some players (Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson, for example) who I could probably successfully argue to effectively be a SG based on how they played, but I'm not including them because I don't think many would consider them to be a pure SG. So, based on my knowledge, I'd rank the following above Kobe (in no particular order):

Michael Jordan
Jerry West
Clyde Drexler
George Gervin
Pete Maravich
Earl Monroe
Sam Jones
Joe Dumars
Dave Bing (maybe)
Reggie Miller (maybe)
Paul Arizin (maybe)
Bill Sharman (maybe)

So, assuming someone believed ALL of those players should be above Kobe, he checks in at #13.

[EarthBall]

Agreed on '84, it's the best ever in my opinion also. Conversely, I'm interested to hear your 15 better shooting guards in the history of the NBA that rank ahead of Kobe Bryant. I was talking top 10 period, not of his position.

Well, first, I was saying that Kobe would be Top 15, not that 15 SGs were better. Second, I said that more as a "hedging my bets" kind of thing, as in "Maybe someone will say he's not Top 5 . . . maybe they'll say he's not top 10 . . . but we can DEFINITELY all agree he's very certainly going to be Top 15." Contrast this with Jordan, who I'd argue was unquestionably Top 10 in everyone's mind (at the absolute worst) after 12 years in the league. Personally, I'd rank Kobe in the Top 10 historically, with the very real potential that he could crack the top 5.

What SGs would I rank ahead of Kobe historically? ... So, based on my knowledge, I'd rank the following above Kobe (in no particular order):

Michael Jordan
Jerry West
Clyde Drexler
George Gervin
Pete Maravich
Earl Monroe
Sam Jones
Joe Dumars
Dave Bing (maybe)
Reggie Miller (maybe)
Paul Arizin (maybe)
Bill Sharman (maybe)

So, assuming someone believed ALL of those players should be above Kobe, he checks in at #13.

I'd like to have whatever you're smoking. From your list, only Jordan and West are better than Kobe. Joe Dumars and Reggie Miller? Really!?!?!? IMO, Dumars doesn't even belong in the HOF. At least not until DJ gets in.

[RebusRankin]

All right, is Kobe a top 10 SG, yep. 10 ten player of all-time, No.

In no particular order:

Jordan
Bird
Wilt
Magic
Kareem
Russell
West
Baylor
Malone
Robertson
Hakeem
Shaq
Hondo
Cousey

Who on that list do you put him ahead of?

[tb727]

No bold for Shareef Abdur-Rahim? He had some great years.

My sentiments exactly.  Stojakovic I'm pretty sure made an All Star team too...

[Who]

No bold for Shareef Abdur-Rahim? He had some great years.

My sentiments exactly.  Stojakovic I'm pretty sure made an All Star team too...

Peja also finished 4th in the MVP race in 2004.