Best NBA Draft?

[batfanjordanv]

Out of all the drafts in NBA history, three are considered to be the best. Question is, which of these three tops the rest?

Let's start with the 1996 NBA Draft. Allen Iverson was selected first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. He went on to be an 11-time NBA All-Star. He won NBA MVP in 2001, the same year he lead the Sixers to the NBA Finals. Marcus Camby was selected second overall by the Toronto Raptors. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 2007, and he was named to the NBA All-Defensive team four times. Shareef Abdur-Rahim was selected third overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He was an NBA All-Star in 2002, and he won a gold medal at the Olympics in 2000. Stephon Marbury was drafted fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was a two-time All-Star. Ray Allen was drafted fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is a 10-time All-Star and the NBA's all-time leader in three-point field goals made. He helped lead the Boston Celtics to an NBA Championship in 2008. Antoine Walker was drafted sixth overall by the Boston Celtics. He was a three-time NBA All-Star. He helped lead the Miami Heat to an NBA Chamionship in 2006. Kerry Kittles was drafted eighth overall by the New Jersey Nets. He helped lead the Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2003 and 2004. Samaki Walker was selected ninth overall by the Dallas Mavericks. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA Championship in 2002 as the starting power forward. Kobe Bryant was drafted 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets. He is a 14-time All-Star. He won NBA MVP in 2008. He has twice been the NBA's scoring champ, in 2006 and 2007. He helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA Championships, winning Finals MVP twice. Peja Stojakovic was drafted 14th overall by the Sacramento Kings. He was a three-time All-Star. He helped the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA Championship in 2011. Steve Nash was drafted fifteenth overall by the Phoenix Suns. He is an eight-time All-Star. He won NBA MVP twice, in 2005 and 2006. Jermaine O'Neal was drafted 17th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. He is a six-time All-Star. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was drafted 20th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a two-time NBA All-Star. He helped lead the Cavaliers to an NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and the Miami Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in 2011. Derek Fisher was drafted 24th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. He helped lead the Lakers to five NBA Championships. He also helped the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA Finals appearance in 2012. Malik Rose was drafted 44th overall by the Charlotte Hornets. He helped the Spurs to two NBA Championships, in 1999 and 2003. Drew Barry, son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry, was drafted 57th overall by the Seattle Supersonics.

Now onto the 1999 NBA Draft. Elton Brand was drafted first overall by the Chicago Bulls. He is a two-time All-Star. Steve Francis was drafted second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He was a three-time All-Star. Baron Davis was drafted third overall by the Charlotte Hornets. He is a two-time All-Star. Lamar Odom was drafted fourth overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers to two NBA Championships, in 2009 and 2010. He won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2011. Wally Sczerbiak was drafted sixth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was an NBA All-Star in 2002. Richard Hamilton was drafted seventh overall by the Washington Wizards. He is a three-time All-Star. He helped lead the Detroit Pistons to the NBA Championship in 2004. Andre Miller was drafted eighth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was the NBA's leader in assists in 2002. Shawn Marion was drafted ninth overall by the Phoenix Suns. He is a four-time All-Star. He helped lead the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Championship in 2011. Jason Terry was drafted 10th overall by the Atlanta Hawks. He won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2009. He helped lead the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Championship in 2011. Metta World Peace was drafted 16th overall by the Chicago Bulls. He was an All-Star in 2004. He helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA Championship in 2010. James Posey was drafted 18th overall by the Denver Nuggets. He helped the Miami Heat to an NBA Championship in 2006 and the Boston Celtics to an NBA Championship in 2008. Andrei Kirilenko was selected 24th overall by the Utah Jazz. He was an All-Star in 2004. Manu Ginobili was drafted 57th overall by the San Antonio Spurs. He is a two-time All-Star. He won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2008. He helped lead the Spurs to NBA Championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

Now, finally, here is the rundown of the 2003 NBA Draft. LeBron James was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is an eight-time All-Star. He is a three-time NBA MVP. He helped lead the Cavaliers to an NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and the Miami Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in 2011. He helped lead the Miami Heat to an NBA Championship in 2012, where he took home Finals MVP. Carmelo Anthony was drafted third overall by the Denver Nuggets. He is a five-time All-Star. Chris Bosh was drafted fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors. He is a seven-time All-Star. He helped lead the Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in 2011, and to an NBA Championship in 2012. Dwyane Wade was drafted fifth overall by the Miami Heat. He is an eight-time All-Star. He was the NBA's scoring champion in 2009. He helped lead the Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in 2011. He helped lead the Heat to NBA Championships in 2006, where he took home Finals MVP, and 2012. Chris Kaman was drafted sixth overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. He was an All-Star in 2010. David West was drafted 18th overall by the New Orleans Hornets. He is a two-time All-Star. Josh Howard was drafted 29th overall by the Dallas Mavericks. He helped lead the Mavericks to an NBA Finals appearance in 2006. He was an All-Star in 2009. Matt Bonner was drafted 45th overall by the Chicago Bulls. He helped the San Antonio Spurs to an NBA Championship in 2007. Mo Williams was drafted 47th overall by the Utah Jazz. He was an All-Star in 2009. James Jones was drafted 49th overall by the Indiana Pacers. He helped the Miami Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in 2011 and to an NBA Championship in 2012.

I think the best draft was 1996. Overall, I think it had the highest number of talented players. I think that 2003 probably had players who individually are more talented than those in 1996, but not as many of them. 1996 was good too, but I think it had a lot of Robins instead of Batmans. What does everyone else think?

[warcore]

99 shouldn't even be on there

[batfanjordanv]

99 had some All-Stars and NBA champions too, though.

[dlpin]

Who considers these to be the best in NBA history?In history, you have the following drafts, which are all better than 1999, at least:1960 (Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Lenny Wilkens, Tom Sanders, plus 2 other players who made all star games)1965 (10 players drafted that year made at least one all star game)1970 (12 all stars, including Nate Archibald, Dave Cowens, Pete Maravich)1979 (Magic Johnson, Bill Laimbeer, Sidney Moncrief, plus 5 other all stars)Post lottery:1985 (Ewing, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, Terry Porter, and 6 other all stars)1987 (David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Horace Grant, Kevin Johnson, Reggie Lewis, Marc Jackson)And finally, the best draft class of all time:1984: Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley, John Stockton

[AHF]

1984 is the best of all-time but the 1996 class wins for the three listed on this thread.