The 2010 NBA Draft will be held tonight in New York. Everyone who’s name is in the draft obviously hopes to hear his name called but of course, many will be disappointed. The field of “can’t miss” prospects in this year’s draft is a short list. A very short list. Once you get about halfway through the lottery, I believe the pool has significantly weakened which will force guys to get drafted higher than they otherwise would get drafted in year’s with a stronger crop.
That, however, was not the case in 1996. Fourteen years ago, we witnessed the best NBA Draft in history. Hands down. Any way you look at this draft, it was completely stacked. Let’s first take a look at the 1996 NCAA All-America 1st team. That consisted of Allen Iverson from Georgetown, Ray Allen from UConn, Tim Duncan from Wake Forest, Kerry Kittles from Villanova, and Marcus Camby from UMass. All were a part of the 1996 draft with the exception of then junior, Tim Duncan, who decided to return to Wake for his senior season. All four of these guys were snatched up within the top nine picks. That may not sound that surprising but 1st team All-America selections don’t necessarily always go high, or at all. What do I mean? Let’s see where Scottie Reynolds ultimately ends up. In my opinion, this 1996 All-America team was the best in the last 14 years. They would have easily beat any team that followed them.
This powerhouse draft has produced 3 league MVPs (Allen Iverson, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant) and 6 NBA champions totalling 15 rings. Aside from that, it has also provided us with countless bonafide NBA superstars as well, such as Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Peja Stojakovic, Jermaine O’Neal and Antoine Walker. That doesn’t include other guys like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Derek Fisher and Kerry Kittles who was solid for a handful of years in New Jersey. Amazingly, 9 of the first round picks are still active. Considering the length of the average NBA career, that’s pretty remarkable.
In a draft where Kobe Bryant was taken #13 overall, it should tell you how stacked it was. Unless you see it layed out, you can’t fully appreciate the historic 1996 Draft. Here are a few notables:
1. Allen Iverson – Philadelphia
2. Marcus Camby – Toronto
3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim – Vancouver
4. Stephon Marbury – Milwaukee
5. Ray Allen – Minnesota
6. Antoine Walker – Boston
8. Kerry Kittles – New Jersey
10. Erick Dampier – Indiana
13. Kobe Bryant – Charlotte
14. Peja Stojakovic – Sacramento
15. Steve Nash – Phoenix
16. Tony Delk – Charlotte
17. Jermaine O’Neal – Portland
18. John Wallace – New York
20. Zydrunas Ilgauskas – Cleveland
24. Derek Fisher – LA Lakers
The other drafts that rival this one are the 1984 Draft (which included Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley) and the 2004 Draft (which included LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony and Josh Howard). But we don’t have to worry about the 2010 draft. This one may very well be historic, for the wrong reason.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.
