1996
Well, well, look who is not selected by the Lakers. Kobe gets drafted by his hometown Sixers. Do the Sixers accept Vlade Divac for Kobe? Probably not, they were in full rebuilding mode at the time, unlike the Hornets. The Answer gets shipped to Canada and Steve Nash doesn’t have to be the play behind Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd and Sam Cassell as he becomes the starting point guard for the powerful Vancouver Grizzlies. So, the Lakers don’t get Kobe nor Fisher but the immediate impact of this draft would be Peja’s selection by the Pacers. This is a 52 win Pacers team that already had Reggie Miller and Ricky Pierce as their shooters. A team that attempted almost 17 threes per game was obviously a 3 point shooting team; you couldn’t find a better scenario for rookie Peja
Championship Builders: Sixers, Twolves ( Pairing Jermaine O'neal with KG could had been interesting)
Biggest Jump: Four players jumped 12 spots (Kobe, Nash, JO and Fisher)
Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)
1. Sixers -- Kobe Bryant (13)
2. Raptors -- Allen Iverson ( 1)
3. Grizzlies -- Steve Nash ( 15)
4. Bucks -- Ray Allen ( 5)
5. Twolves -- Jermaine O’neal ( 17)
6. Celtics -- Marcus Camby ( 2)
7. Clippers -- Stephon Marbury ( 4)
8. Nets -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim ( 3)
9. Mavs -- Antoine Walker ( 6)
10. Pacers -- Peja Stojakovic ( 14)
11. Warriors -- Zydrunas Illgauskas ( 20)
12. Cavs -- Derek Fisher ( 24)
1997
This is a pretty crappy draft class; a 3 player class headed by Tim Duncan. Now picture this: 18 year old TMac playing with 19 year old Kobe. I love this post
Championship Builders: Spurs, Sixers
Biggest Jump: Stephen Jackson from 42nd to 4th
Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)
1. Spurs -- Tim Duncan (1)
2. Sixers -- Tracy McGrady (9)
3. Celtics -- Chauncey Billups (3)
4. Grizzlies -- Stephen Jackson (42)
5. Nuggets -- Tim Thomas (7)
1998
With the number one pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the LA Clippers select: Dirk Nowitzki. Sorry Dirk.
Championship Builders: Clippers
Biggest Jump: Rashard Lewis from 32nd to 5th
Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)
1. Clippers -- Dirk Nowitzki (9)
2. Grizzlies -- Vince Carter (5)
3. Nuggets -- Paul Pierce (10)
4. Raptors -- Mike Bibby (2)
5. Warriors -- Rashard Lewis (32)
6. Mavs -- Antawn Jamison (4)
7. Kings -- Al Harrington (25)
8. Sixers -- Matt Harpring (15)
9. Bucks -- Larry Hughes (8)
10. Celtics -- Jason Williams (7)
1999
These are the rookies of the lock out shortened season. If you sit down and analyze this players careers so far ( how good they are, injuries, character issues, impact, success) you are going to find a “but” in most of these guys. Everybody has issues, right?. Look at BDiddy ( injuries, clashes with coaches, not always “there”) Manu (injuries) Brand (injuries and a record breaking skills diminishing pace), Artest ( Being Artest), Kirilenko (Cry baby). This is actually a deep class fill with quality players, great players to have as your second or third option...but with issues.
Championship Builders: None
Biggest Jump: Manu Ginobili from 57th to 2nd
1. Bulls -- Baron Davis (3)
2. Grizzlies -- Manu Ginobili (57)
3. Hornets -- Elton Brand (1)
4. Clippers -- Lamar Odom (4)
5. Raptors -- Ron Artest (16)
6. Twolves -- Shawn Marion (9)
7. Wizards -- Richard Hamilton (7)
8. Cavs -- Andre Miller (8)
9. Suns -- Jason Terry (10)
10. Hawks -- Andrei Kirilenko (24)
11. Cavs -- Corey Maggette (13)
2000
Worst class since 1991. Amazing, 11 years in the league, 58 players, 2 All Star selections ( Kmart and Redd in 2004).
Fun Fact: Michael Redd is the lowest selection to be “re-selected” as number one ( so far)
Championship Builders: None
Biggest Jump: Michael Redd from 43rd to 1th
1. Nets -- Michael Redd (43)
2. Grizzlies -- Kenyon Martin (1)
3. Clippers -- Jamal Crawford (8)
4. Bulls -- Hedo Turkoglu (16)
5. Magic -- Quentin Richardson (18)
6. Hawks -- Mike Miller (5)
7. Bulls -- Eddie House (37)
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