Opinion: Which was the better NBA draft?

[mannyz]

2003 Lebron, Mello, Bosch, Wade or
1984 Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton

I go with 1984. Jordan, arguably the greatest ever, Barkley, one of the top 50 players of all time, Hakeem the Dream, one of the greatest Centers ever, and John Stockton, without a doubt, one of the greatest PG's ever.
2003. I am not a big Mello fan, the other 3 are great players. Lebron is a generational player, Wade is a great player and so is Bosch.

 

[Black Adam]

2003 Lebron, Mello, Bosch, Wade or
1984 Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton

I go with 1984. Jordan, arguably the greatest ever, Barkley, one of the top 50 players of all time, Hakeem the Dream, one of the greatest Centers ever, and John Stockton, without a doubt, one of the greatest PG's ever.
2003. I am not a big Mello fan, the other 3 are great players. Lebron is a generational player, Wade is a great player and so is Bosch.

I'd lean towards the '84 draft as well, but mostly because we can all see the end result of that one. Still players in the NBA from the '03 class...

do i thnk there's a chance the '03 class will ever surpass them? no. just a small point of contention...

 

[logic]

2003 Lebron, Mello, Bosch, Wade or
1984 Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton

I go with 1984. Jordan, arguably the greatest ever, Barkley, one of the top 50 players of all time, Hakeem the Dream, one of the greatest Centers ever, and John Stockton, without a doubt, one of the greatest PG's ever.
2003. I am not a big Mello fan, the other 3 are great players. Lebron is a generational player, Wade is a great player and so is Bosch.

Darko still has more rings than Melo

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

1984 draft no doubt.

Right now i'd even take the 1996 draft over the 2003 draft.

 

[CitySushi]

84 and it's not even close.

Edit: Elaborating.

Jordan is universally recognized at the greatest of all time. Then you have Hakeem, Barkley and Stockton who are all top 5 players of all time at their positions. This isn't close.

 

[WiggyRuss]

2003 Lebron, Mello, Bosch, Wade or
1984 Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton

I go with 1984. Jordan, arguably the greatest ever, Barkley, one of the top 50 players of all time, Hakeem the Dream, one of the greatest Centers ever, and John Stockton, without a doubt, one of the greatest PG's ever.
2003. I am not a big Mello fan, the other 3 are great players. Lebron is a generational player, Wade is a great player and so is Bosch.

Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson were in the same draft too fyi.......

 

[trojanfan12]

Definitely 84. It's not really even close.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson were in the same draft too fyi.......

And nobody on gods green earth gives a flying fuck about them.

 

[tducey]

1984

 

[Rockinkuwait]

84 easy..

96 had arguably the best depth (AI, Camby, Abdur Rahim, Marbury, Ray Allen, Kobe, Antoine, Peja, Nash, Ilgauskas, Jermaine O'Neal, Fisher... and Ben Wallace came out of college that year )

84/85 was an amazing back to back years of drafting though. Jordan, Olajuwon, Stockton, Barkley... Then Ewing, Mullin, Schrempf, Karl Malone, Terry Porter, Dumars, X-man...

 

[CitySushi]

The 1999 Draft actually had good depth, just not a lot of top tier talent:

Elton Brand, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Lamar Odom, Wally Sczerbiak, Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey, Andre Kirilenko, Manu Ginobili. Raja Bell and Chris Anderson were undrafted.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

The 1999 Draft actually had good depth, just not a lot of top tier talent:

Elton Brand, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Lamar Odom, Wally Sczerbiak, Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey, Andre Kirilenko, Manu Ginobili. Raja Bell and Chris Anderson were undrafted.

A lot of old-school game in that draft...

 

[CitySushi]

A lot of old-school game in that draft...

Man could you imagine a prime LO right now in the NBA. He would be the prototype 4 in any NBA system.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Man could you imagine a prime LO right now in the NBA. He would be the prototype 4 in any NBA system.

And AK47... Had that rebounding, shot blocking (I'd call him one of the best ever for his size), shot the 3 a bit...



Yeah, was looking down that list and thinking... wow, half of these guys I'd call crafty vets with skill games that translated well into their older years (or that you thought they would have).

 

[CitySushi]

And AK47... Had that rebounding, shot blocking (I'd call him one of the best ever for his size), shot the 3 a bit...



Yeah, was looking down that list and thinking... wow, half of these guys I'd call crafty vets with skill games that translated well into their older years (or that you thought they would have).

Oh yeah AK47 for sure. Man I wanted him for years on the Warriors, especially when Nelly was running the show and wanted to get up and down the court. He would have been a perfect fit.

Yeah all of them had 1 or 2 skills that really translated well late in their careers. Rip and Wally made very good careers out of their ability to shoot the ball. Francis and Baron were freak athletes that burned bright but not for long periods of time. Brand was good while he was healthy. Odom was one of the most versatile athletes in NBA during his time. Ginobili was really a revelation though and he's probably the best player from this draft class.

But look at Marion, Terry, Miller, Artest, Anderson, Bell and Maggette. All those guys had one strong aspect in their game that allowed them to play long careers. Marion, Artest, Anderson and Bell made a living on the defensive end. Maggette was the original Harden in getting to the basket and drawing a foul. Terry has made a living by being able to knock down the 3.

Old school games for sure. They all had a focus or concentration that excelled. They weren't great players, but were good enough to last.

 

[CodeBreaker]

1984, case closed

 

[knowyourenemy]

2003 Lebron, Mello, Bosch, Wade or
1984 Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton

I go with 1984. Jordan, arguably the greatest ever, Barkley, one of the top 50 players of all time, Hakeem the Dream, one of the greatest Centers ever, and John Stockton, without a doubt, one of the greatest PG's ever.
2003. I am not a big Mello fan, the other 3 are great players. Lebron is a generational player, Wade is a great player and so is Bosch.

1984, without a doubt. If you line those guys up from 1st to 4th, I think 1984 has the better player in every slot. That is, to say:

Jordan > LeBron
Hakeem > Wade
Barkley > Melo
Stockton > Bosh

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Oh yeah AK47 for sure. Man I wanted him for years on the Warriors, especially when Nelly was running the show and wanted to get up and down the court. He would have been a perfect fit.

That is so funny. Early George Karl days here in Denver I really wanted him for that same reason.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Is this a serious question?

I mean the Class of 2004 had major talent.

But, outside of Bron, would you rank any of those guys top 20, or even 30th, of all time?

I wouldn't.

 

[trojanfan12]

Is this a serious question?

I mean the Class of 2004 had major talent.

But, outside of Bron, would you rank any of those guys top 20, or even 30th, of all time?

I wouldn't.

Yeah, D-Wade is top 20-30 adjacent, but outside of Lebron...that's it.

Meanwhile, the 4 listed from 84 are all top 20-30 and one is the GOAT.