Slammin' from 1996 to 1984

by Atma Brother ONE on Jul 31, 2006 8:42 AM PDT in NBA Draft

Today's Slam magazine retro cover is one of my favorites. It features what I consider the greatest NBA Draft class of all time- the Nine-Six.

Everything was slammin' about this draft except for the Warriors' #11 pick.

This draft changed the league forever. Take a look at some of the names that went 1-10 before the Warriors made their pick at the 11th spot:

Allen Iverson
Marcus Camby
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Stephon Marbury
Ray Allen
Antoine Walker
Lorenzen Wright
Kerry Kittles
Samaki Walker
Erick Dampier

And with the number 11 pick in the 1996 NBA draft the Warriors took...

Todd Fuller!

The amazing thing is that the Warriors ended up taking the only player in NBA history who's college GPA was higher than their career points per game. Now that's smart!

No biggie right? Just another draft pick wasted a la Adonal Foyle and Mike Dunleavy. Well, not so fast. Take a look at this list of players who were drafted after the Warriors took Todd Fuller:

Kobe Bryant
Peja Stojakovic
Steve Nash
Tony Delk
Jermaine O'Neal
Zyndrunas Ilgauskas
Derek Fisher

We know the Warriors' messed big time in the draft, but the real question is: Which was a better overall draft 1996 or 1984 which produced hoops legends galore in Akeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, and some guy named Michael Jordan?

Compare for yourself and vote in the comments section
1996 NBA Draft [NBADraft.net]
1984 NBA Draft [NBADraft.net]

By the way in 1984 the Warriors took Steve Burtt, Jay Murphy, Othell Wilson, and Gary Plummer in the 2nd round, Lewis Jackson in the 3rd, Steve Bartek and Scott McCollum in the 5th, and Tony Martin in the 6th, Cliff Higgins in the 7th, Paul Brozovich in the 8th, Mitch Arnold in the 9th, and Tim Bell in the 10th round. Back then the NBA was only 22 teams deep and the draft went much longer than the current 2 rounds. Can any of our older and wiser GSoM members give us a little history on any of these players? Younger fans want to know!

Also see:

Poll

Which was the better NBA Draft Class?

1984 NBA Draft

37 votes

1996 NBA Draft

66 votes

103 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

throwing darts

at a dart board of names would have resulted in a better pick! ah, who was Gm'n then?

by hardcore on Jul 31, 2006 8:50 AM PDT reply actions

2nd round was a goldmine too.. of sorts

Warriors were better off picking Travis Knight (the last pick of that draft who got PAID by the Knicks and Lakers).

The 2nd round include solid role players like:

Jeff McInnis (ok.. bad attitude, but he's still in the league!)
Othella Harrington
Moochie Norris (okay, he sucks, but the Rockets can't seem to let him go no matter how many times they cut or trade him)
Malik Rose
Shannon Anderson

Okay granted none of these are STARS and hindsight is a b*tch, but the Warriors management REALLY messed up on this one. There really are no excuses.

by dj fuzzylogic on Jul 31, 2006 9:25 AM PDT reply actions

Fuller or ..

M. Rose and O. Harrington are both still playing. Solid vets and hard working role players.

by joe sez on Jul 31, 2006 8:04 PM PDT up reply actions

Tough one...

Depth wise, obviously 1996 was a better draft. So many legit stars and a couple of superstars in that draft. But the 1984 draft has 4 guys who are arguably in the top 5 of all time at their position. Overall, I'd say the '96 draft was the best ever. Time will tell if the 2003 draft belongs in the debate.

by LancerEvoV on Jul 31, 2006 10:55 AM PDT reply actions

'84 and '03 similar

i think the '03 and '84 drafts will be very similar drafts. thy don't have extraordinary depth, but had a few players who reashaped the entire game. i'd take '96 as the strongest ever due to it's depth

by mydedgerbil555 on Jul 31, 2006 12:33 PM PDT reply actions

Don't forget the 1999 draft

Not quite the quality of 84 or 96 when it comes to Hall of Fame type players, but this draft had a LOT of all-stars and some of these players clearly haven't peaked yet. It was a very deep draft that deserves to at least be in the conversation although with no Jordan, Kobe, etc:

1 - Brand
2 - Francis
3 - Baron
4 - Odom
5 - Bender (okay not him)
6 - Wally World
7 - Rip Hamilton
8 - Andre Miller
9 - Marion
10 - JET Terry
13 - Maggette
16 - Artest
24 - Kirilenko
57 - Ginobili

Warriors picked 21st and took Jeff Foster three picks before Kirilenko went. In the second round we picked 56th and took Tim Young the pick before the Spurs grabbed Manu.

by SilkySmooth on Jul 31, 2006 4:28 PM PDT reply actions

don't forget

the warriors had the draft right to terry and traded him for mookie.

by Fantasy Junkie on Jul 31, 2006 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions

evaluating the 2 draft classes

this may not be the best way to do it, but let's say you take each class and grab a starting 5 plus a 6th man. that way you match up the class on a position by position basis. i think in terms of depth, the '96 draft wins but as a team, the '84 draft tops them.

1996
PG: Steve Nash
SG: Allen Iverson
SF: Kobe Bryant
PF: Jermaine O'neal
C: Marcus Camby
6th: Ray Allen

1984
PG: John Stockton
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Charles Barkley
PF: Kevin Willis
C: Akeem Olajuwon
6th: Michael Cage

by Fantasy Junkie on Jul 31, 2006 5:03 PM PDT reply actions

SG does not equal SF

I'm sorry but I've seen it so many times on this board, but not all SGs can also play SF. If the W's got AI, J-Rich would be a horrible SF. Kobe Bryant does not play SF. I guess it's convenient sometimes, but it would never happen.

by LancerEvoV on Aug 1, 2006 12:25 AM PDT up reply actions

Kobe at the 3

If you can play, you can play. The 2 and 3 positions are usually interchangeable. JRich played the 3 a lot last year when Monty went small with Baron-Fish- and JRich or plugged in Monta.

Also, Kobe actually used to play small forward earlier in his career.

93 'til Infinity: The Warriors' playoff drought?

by Atma Brother ONE on Aug 1, 2006 8:33 AM PDT up reply actions

I see it differently.

Going small ball for periods of a game is different. I'm saying that neither player has ever been listed as a SG/SF. LeBron is a SG/SF. Marion is a SF/PF. J-Rich and Kobe are SGs. All positions are interchangeable. PG/SG, SG/SF, SF/PF, PF/C. But only if the player can actually play both positions for extended periods, or even consider starting at that position. Let's put it this way: Have you ever seen Kobe or J-Rich have SF eligibility in Fantasy Basketball? In this case, it's convenient to list Kobe at SF for the sake of arguement, or it's convenient to list J-Rich as a SF to argue that the W's should get AI, but it's completely unrealistic.

by LancerEvoV on Aug 1, 2006 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions

Good points

I think in this new NBA though you can go small with extended periods of time. It's all about driving to the lane a la Wade and drawing fouls.

And I do remember Kobe starting at Small Forward awhile back. I am remembering incorrectly?

93 'til Infinity: The Warriors' playoff drought?

by Atma Brother ONE on Aug 1, 2006 10:56 AM PDT up reply actions

Maybe?

You could be right about Kobe. I don't remember him starting at SF, but I could be wrong. I always remember Rick Fox or Deavon George being around...

by LancerEvoV on Aug 1, 2006 3:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Eddie Jones

Didn't he play along side Eddie Jones early in his career? I think in that situation Eddie was the SF though.

by Googs on Aug 1, 2006 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Article Comparing the 2

I was poking around and found an article from the Washington Post about which draft class is the best, '84, '96', '03.

Best NBA Draft Class

by Fantasy Junkie on Jul 31, 2006 5:04 PM PDT reply actions

Kobe the SF

Kobe started at SF early in his career... this was when he was starting alongside Van Exel and Eddie Jones... look it up if you don't believe me

by SilkySmooth on Aug 1, 2006 3:11 PM PDT reply actions

Kobe can play 4 positions

I swear he can play SG, SF, PF, and C. He's that good.

Just don't let him play Point!

I remember the Lakers had something like 4 All Stars that year:

Shaq
Kobe
Van Ex
Eddie Jones

And then the "wise" GM Jerry West traded away Van Exel and Eddie for basically nothing. Very strange, but they went on to win 3 straight.

93 'til Infinity: The Warriors' playoff drought?

by Atma Brother ONE on Aug 1, 2006 3:52 PM PDT up reply actions

I did look it up...

Kobe Bryant only started 7 games his first 2 years in the league. Nick Van Exel only played with Kobe those 2 years. That and Eddie Jones is considered a G/F, at least according to espn.com.

The Lakers did have 4 All-Stars in '98. Kobe was voted by fans to the starting 5, being the only player to start in an All-Star game who didn't start for his own team.

by LancerEvoV on Aug 1, 2006 8:28 PM PDT up reply actions