NBA Draft’s Top 10 Classes Ever

Let the talent debate begin! Now that the NBA Draft’s lottery order is set, pundits can start debating about how deep and talented this class is (our two cents: talented, not very deep). But what were some of the best draft classes in NBA history? We have our Top 10 since it all started in 1947.

10. 1991
Starring: Larry Johnson (No. 1), Kenny Anderson (N0.2), Dikembe Mutombo (No. 4), Steve Smith (No. 5), Terrell Brandon (No. 11)
Whether you wanted a big man or a floor leader, this class had a little bit of everything. Johnson killed in the paint early in his career before a back injury forced him to kill teams from the outside as well. Kenny Anderson was solid and Terrell Brandon was named the best point guard in the NBA by Sports Illustrated in 1997. All Steve Smith did was win. And what can you say about Mutombo other than don’t bring anything weak to his basket and he might have actually been 30 when he was picked. Dale Davis and Chris Gatling were also solid first-rounders in this draft.

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9. 1992
Starring: Shaquille O’Neal (No. 1), Alonzo Mourning (No. 2), Tom Gugliotta (No. 6) and Latrell Sprewell (No.24)
There was no shortage of big men to pick in this draft. While the top two picks were home-run choices, Gugliotta and Sprewell were also All-Stars. Mourning was a 7-time All-Star and 2-time Defensive Player of the Year and while Shaq is now a shadow of his former self, he’s still one of the top 10 NBA players of all time. Remember when he used to run like this?

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8. 1993
Starring: Chris Webber (No. 1), Anfernee Hardaway (No. 3), Jamal Mashburn (No. 4), Allan Houston (No. 11), Sam Cassell (No. 24)
If this list were the Top 10 “What could have been” draft classes, then this one would certainly be No. 1 Many of these guys had Hall of Fame talent but were derailed by injuries (Hardaway, Mashburn, Houston), others had personal issues interrupt promising careers (Isaiah Rider, Vin Baker). It’s fitting the No. 1 pick of this draft was Webber. While he still might get into the Hall of Fame, he’s a microcosm of this class: loads of talent that for whatever reason (bad luck, injuries, personal problems, a combination of all three), didn’t quite reach his full potential. And the 2002 Western Conference Final refs didn’t help C-Webb either.

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7. 1979
Starring: Magic Johnson (No. 1), Bill Cartwright (No. 3), Sidney Moncrief (No. 5) and Bill Laimbeer (No. 65)
Johnson, Cartwright and Laimbeer became key pieces to championship dynasties in Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit, respectively. Not too many draft classes can boast that. And this might be one of the meanest draft classes in NBA history. Laimbeer’s intensity on the court is well documented. He was one of the most hated men in the league. Moncrief isn’t as well-known as a tenacious player, but Michael Jordan himself once said that when you play against Moncrief, you were in for a night of “all-around basketball.”

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6. 1965
Starring: Bill Bradley (territorial pick), Gail Goodrich (territorial pick), Rick Barry (No. 2), Jerry Sloan (No. 4) and Billy Cunningham (No. 5)
This class rivals 1984 four number of Hall of Famers (Bradley, Goodrich, Barry and Cunningham). The Hall of Famers combined to win five NBA Championships as players – Cunningham also won one as a coach. Barry and Cunningham were also considered one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the league’s 50th anniversary in 1996. Time is a reason most basketball fans forget this class but the talent from 1965 will always be timeless.

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5. 1987
Starring: David Robinson (No.1), Scottie Pippen (No. 5),  Kevin Johnson (No. 7), Horace Grant (No. 10), Reggie Miller (No. 11), Muggsy Bogues (No. 12), Mark Jackson (No. 18) and Reggie Lewis (No. 22)
Not only was this draft class just very talented but its members were very unique compared to most other seasons. Robinson was a former Navy cadet and nicknamed “The Admiral,” Pippen became Jordan’s right-hand man, Grant sported awesome Rec Specs, Miller was the William Shakespeare of trash talking and Muggsy Bogues was the shortest player to ever play in the NBA. Throw in Kevin Johnson, who is now the mayor of Sacramento, and you have what could be the most-colorful draft class in NBA history that was ridiculously deep. And that’s not even mentioning Reggie Lewis, who was on his way to super stardom when he died at the age of 27 from a heart defect.

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4. 1985
Starring: Patrick Ewing (No. 1), Xavier McDaniel (No. 4), Chris Mullin (No. 7), Detlef Schrempf (No. 8), Charles Oakley (No. 9), Karl Malone (No. 13), Joe Dumars (No. 18), A.C. Green (No. 23), Terry Porter (No. 24)
With back-to-back great classes, it’s no wonder the ’80s were a golden age in the NBA. Thanks to Ewing and Malone’s goose egg in the championship column, the elites of this draft don’t stack up quite as high as the players in the preceding draft. It was known as the “Ewing Draft,” but this first round also had plenty of other talent that were perennial All-Stars. It was another year where you almost had to try whiff on your draft pick (Uwe Blab over Joe Dumars, really Dallas?). Even Portland (Porter) got it right.

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3. 1996
Starring: Allen Iverson (No. 1), Marcus Camby (No. 2), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (No. 3), Stephon Marbury (No. 4), Ray Allen (No. 5), Antoine Walker (No. 6), Kobe Bryant (No. 13), Peja Stojakovic (No. 14), Steve Nash (No. 15), Jermaine O’Neal (No. 17), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (No. 20) and Ben Wallace (undrafted)
You need to take a deep breath before reading aloud that impressive list of stars from this draft. And three of them are still in the NBA Playoffs! And it’s pretty mind-boggling that the Hornets got Kobe at No. 13, one spot behind Vitaly Potapenko. While this class certainly lays claim to the deepest draft class, we’re not quite sure it should be considered the best, even though that’s exactly what SLAM Magazine called it. Three players fell short of expectations (Marbury, Walker, Camby) and both Marbury and Walker flamed out in a major way. Iverson, Bryant and Allen probably make up for it, but we wouldn’t put them as a group in the class of Olajuwon, Jordan, Barkley and Stockton.

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2. 2003
Starring: LeBron James (No. 1), Carmelo Anthony (No. 3), Chris Bosh (No. 4), Dwayne Wade (No. 5), Chris Kaman (No. 6), David West (No. 18), Josh Howard (No. 29) and Mo Williams (No. 47)
Ten years from now NBA fans will probably look back on this class and say it was the greatest. Not even the 1984 Draft had this much talent at the top. Four of the six picks are legit NBA stars (James, Anthony, Bosh and Wade) and Kaman is much better than people give him credit for. West and Howard are freaks in the paint and Williams could potentially be the only reason James stays in Cleveland. But it’s still a little too early to call it the greatest. Don’t be surprised if this draft, barring major injuries, provides at least three, possibly four Hall of Famers. Unfortunately, there’s also one giant stain on this class.

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1. 1984
Starring: Hakeem Olajuwon (No. 1), Michael Jordan (No.3), Charles Barkley (No. 5), John Stockton (No. 16)
Two words: His Airness. It was the draft that had so much talent at the top that teams were willingly racing to the bottom of the standings at historic rates. We wouldn’t blame them. Olajuwon (No. 1) and Jordan (No. 3) are Hall of Famers with multiple championships. Barkley (No. 5) is a Hall of Famer who was a league MVP. And the Jazz stole Hall of Famer Stockton (No. 16), which meant a lot teams tanked epically for nothing. Throw in talented role players like Alvin Robertson, Otis Thorpe and Kevin Willis in the first round and you really had to royally mess up to come away with nothing in 1984. Sorry Portland.