“The Best Class Of Them All”

With all of the teams i was rooting for seemingly about to get knocked out, it’s time to turn our attention to the draft. We’re going to go through the three best classes, and do a “where are they now?” and look over their careers. In 2003, we were treated to the best draft class of all-time (questionably). There were 58 players drafted that year, 12 of them never made the league (with one, Greece’s Sofoklis Schortsanitis, that still has scouts trying to bring him over). Twelve more are out of the league now. That leaves 34 players from that draft still in the league!

Marcus Banks, Dahntay Jones, Brian Cook, and Matt Bonner are essentially bench-warmers. Though Marcus Banks will likely get a shot at a starting gig in Miami next year and Cook and Bonner may pick up some big playoff minutes in Orlando and San Antonio, they are all non-rotation players at this point.

That leaves 30 out of the 58 players drafting, that are still contributing in the NBA. That is completely nuts! I have separated these guys into five groups. Let’s take a look at how they all panned out:

Solid Contributors:

Three-point ace Jason Kapono (#31 overall to Cleveland) leads this group off. Washington’s picks, Steve Blake (#38 overall) and Jarvis Hayes (#10), have both turned into solid rotation guys for other teams. ZaZa Pachulia (#42 overall) is the third big on a playoff team. Luke Ridnour (#14) had one good playoff series a couple years ago. Carlos Delfino (#25) is a key role player for the Raptors, in their playoff run. And Brian Cook (#24) has been in and out of the lineups on different Laker and Magic playoff teams.

Top Of The Rotation Guys:

The Warriors’ Mickael Pietrus (#11) is definitely the most talented of this bunch. But Luke Walton (#32) is having an incredible series for the Lakers right now. James Jones (#49) has had the most playoff success as a defensive/3 point ace for the Suns and Pacers. Darko Milicic (#2) still has a chance, but he’s looking more and more like a bust every year. Yet he’s been good enough to stay in rotations in Orlando and Memphis. Willie Green (#41) is sporadic for the over-achieving 76ers. Keith Bogans (#41) has featured a reduced role this season, but still stays in rotation in Orlando. And Nick Collison (#12) has been a standard in Seattle.

Championship Level Starters (meaning that they’re good enough to be starters on championship teams

Kendrick Perkins (#27) has the best chance this season to end up a starter for a Championship team in Boston. Three point ace Kyle Korver‘s (#51) addition has Utah looking like a title contender as well. Kirk Hinrich (#7) had a down year for the Bulls, but last year at this time everyone was on his nutts. Plus he turned it around and had a stellar second half, but the team still stunk. Boris Diaw (#21) and Leandro Barbosa (#28) have tasted plenty of success in Phoenix, but don’t look like they’re quite on that championship level again. Travis Outlaw (#23) was perhaps the second best player on a good Portland squad. He hit a lot of threes and most of them were in clutch spots. Sasha Pavlovic (#19) developed into one of Lebron’s favorite running mates in Cleveland. And while Mo Williams (#47) took a step backwards this year, he’s still a very solid player for Millwuakee.

All-Star Level Players

Here we’ll start with Chris Kaman (#6), who has played at a just-below all-star level the past two seasons. The Caveman has plenty of jokes cracked at his expense, but has turned into quite a presence in the low post. He can score, rebound, and take a lot of pressure off Elton Brand. When together and healthy, Kaman and Brand can absolutely dominate the boards. In a weak league for centers (where all the best Centers consider themselves “Power Forwards), Kaman could definitely add an all-star appearance or two before he’s done.

The next here is TJ Ford (#8). Despite the media’s bias against him for supposedly being outplayed by Jose Calderon, Ford is still a top 10 point guard in the league. At his best, he is the second best player on this team and a potential all-star. At his worst he is still the third best player on this team (behind Chris Bosh – see later, and Calderon). And this team is in its’ second straight playoffs, in the second year since Ford arrived. Coincidence?

We’ll flip to the self-imposed pot-head Josh Howard (#29). I have the Black Gumby as the sixth best player from this draft, but he was the last pick of the first round, quite a diamond in the rough. He was an all-star last year and very well could have been one this year. He has the arms to give any player 1-4 trouble on the defensive end, and shoots the mid-range shot with ease on offense. And despite his struggles against the Hornets, he’s traditionally been quite a good playoff performer as well.

The best of this group is David West (#18). While he is a VERY good player, i would not quite consider him a franchise guy. It would be interesting to see how good he was without Chris Paul, however. But as it stands now, he is a slightly smaller, more athletic Elton Brand. He is money with that 12-15 foot jumper, and plays off the ball very well. He also has very good chemistry with Paul, and was rewarded with his first trip to the all-star game this season.

Franchise Guys

The Raptors saw their two best players drafted in this draft. While they had to trade for Ford, they drafted Chris Bosh (#4), and he became the franchise player. “Lefty KG” as I like to call him, has led them to two straight playoffs, and is now a three-time all-star. If not for the team’s location in Canada, he would probably get alot more spotlight in a bigger market. He is one of the most exciting players to watch in the league, and has quite a fun rivalry with the Magic’s Dwight Howard.


Despite calling out his team this weekend, Carmelo Anthony (#3) has thus far been a franchise player on the court. He has had his share of incidents off of it (including one on it), but his talent is enough to always take a chance on. He is absolutely unstoppable when he faces you up within 12 feet. But he could learn to pass better and play better defense in order to be among the league’s truly elite players.

Dwayne Wade (#5) is one of the most fun players to watch in the league. He is among the fastest, and can jump out of a gym. Plus he’s not afraid of contact. When he’s on (as he was from the end of the 05 playoffs through the point he was injured last year), he’s another Jordan on offense. Defensively, he could use some work. But he’s still an above average defender and used to (before the acquisition of Shawn Marion) draw the best offensive wing player on the other end of the floor. He’s a top 5 player in the league today when fully healthy, but as much as it pains me to say this, he’s not quite as good as….

The King, Lebron James (#1) was picked first overall in this draft, and is the second best player in the league today.