Players that should have been the number 1 pick
1995- Kevin Garnett
1996- Kobe Bryant (Hard time believing he would not have been fantastic anywhere he went)
1997- Tim Duncan
1998- Dirk Nowitzki (Vince's first four seasons were great. Dirk has lead a team to a championship and 50 wins for 10 years. Think he gets it.)
1999- Manu Ginobili (You may have had to wait a few years, but tell me where Steve Francis is now? Elton Brand would be the pick otherwise)
2000- Kenyon Martin (Many would say Redd, but he seems to have faded. Jamal Crawford and Hedo Turkoglu are also possibilities, but I think the Nets stick with K-Mart.)
2001- Pau Gasol
2002- Yao Ming (The reason I say Yao Ming is because I honestly believe Amare would have left Houston for New York. Just, it would have happened. If you said Amare were still in Houston, than he is the pick. But, if you choose between one or the other, for as long as they both played, you definitely take Yao)
2003- LeBron James
2004- Dwight Howard
2005- Chris Paul (Tough decision, but he is just amazing. I think most people would love for him to run their team, even more so than Williams, who is also fantastic.)
2006- LaMarcus Aldridge (Definitely should have picked LA. I think he and Bosh, as much as people may call them both soft, would have been a horror for teams to defend. Roy would have been the pick if you factored out the knee issues, but knowing what we know now, how would you not take Aldridge? Rudy Gay is a possibility, but I think Aldridge is a flat out better player to build around.)
2007- Kevin Durant (I am the biggest Greg Oden supporter in the world and I will say, if given the magical power of hindsight, Portland definitely picks Kevin Durant. At the time you go the other way, but no one had a crystal ball saying that Oden would be hurt for this long of a span of his career.)
2008- Derrick Rose
If you want to play the "What if....." game, than what if all of the number 1 picks played like the people that drafted them thought they would? If not, than these are the guys who should have been drafted first.
If Oden can stay healthy, despite Durant's value, he could be even more priceless.
Just the interior strength/defense that he provides a squad forces teams to adjust their entire gameplan. He is also a capable scorer on the block and has a pretty high basketball IQ despite his age/lack of experience.
Oden can still be a monumental success in this league. People forget just how you he is and how dominant he can be.
your argument for Yao over Amare isnt rational. I dont understand why you wouldnt take amare and how you could possibly guess that he would still have left for new york. we are talking about breaking the space time continuum here, the present has nothing to do with anything. besides that i like your pics.
Isn't hindsight suppose to be 20/20? If so, how come bedrock23 missed so many of the picks?
Player for player, I would go with Mikeyvthedon for every pick and every reason he mentions. Most of these guys it is pretty clear cut especially since we have had a few years to look back. There are a handful of close matchups, but enough separation to still get the right guy.
Yao Ming was more than basketball, more than any other player out there. Maybe it is because his retirement was so recent, but I think that if Houston had the choice between Amare and Yao, knowing what would happen, I think they would still take Yao. Could be sentimental reasoning, but at certain points I believe Yao was even more valuable than Amare. Not to mention that before these past couple of years, they had played the same amount of games. Think that makes sense.
Guys, I love Greg Oden, and I agree that he can still be awesome, but I think even you will admit that you are not completely sold on him just coming back and putting up 18, 13 and 3. He has potential to do so, especially with the blocks and rebounds, but he also has to cut down his fouls and turnovers. Not to mention, stay healthy. Greg could be priceless, but it is incredibly hard to say at this point, "Let's build the team around Greg Oden." It is not hard at all to say that about Kevin Durant. Seeing what has happened to Roy makes this choice even easier. I like Greg Oden more than Kevin Durant (just do, always have, probably always will), but Kevin Durant is definitely a greater impact player. Greg could be an All-Star, he could be a player that helps you get over the hump for a championship, but he is not going to lead you to a championship. He needs the right supporting cast just as much as Kevin Durant, but Durant is on his way to being a top 5 player in the league, if he is not already. Greg is very much a wait and see type player, and going into their 5th year, in hindsight, you take Durant. I am a giant Greg Oden fan, and I will always cheer for him over Durant, but I think it is a little late to think that Greg is going to have more of an impact at this point. Let him average over 10 rebounds and 28 minutes before throwing 18, 13 and 3 around.
Mikeythedon...
I highly doubt Oden could just comeback and put up those numbers. I'm saying if he ever becomes that player, then he could very well be even more valuable than Durant. It's unlikely given the circumstances, but in the event that he does, I'd rather have an interior defenseman of his stature combined with his skills offensively. There is a reason the Blazer weren't made out to be completely ludacris after passing on Durant and his stellar freshman campaign.
Not after his first year, though it was not like people were not criticizing them. But, I even said this at the time, if Kevin Durant became a top 5 player in the league, than it might be considered a bad pick. I did not know Kevin Durant was going to become a legit 30 ppg scorer who could take a team to the conference finals. The kid has serious game, and while I completely agree with you that Greg could be incredibly valuable as a defensive anchor, you take the person leading the team. That is why you take a Pau Gasol over a Tyson Chandler, if you know what I am saying. Greg could play a big role, but it will be secondary to a guy like Durant. So, the Blazers could contend, but the odds are that someone is in the drivers seat and Greg is riding shot gun. Durant is a guy you want in the drivers seat, I was not sure if he was after his rookie year, but he is looking like the closest challenger to LeBron James for the next however many years.
1995 - Kevin Garnett
1996 - Kobe Bryant > Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Steve Nash
1997 - Tim Duncan > Tracy McGrady
1998 - Dirk Nowitzki > Paul Pierce, Vince Carter
1999 - Elton Brand
2000 - Kenyon Martin
2001 - Pau Gasol > Joe Johnson
2002 - Amare' Stoudemire > Yao Ming
2003 - LeBron James > Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony
2004 - Dwight Howard
2005 - Deron Williams > Chris Paul, Andrew Bogut
2006 - LaMarcus Aldridge > Brandon Roy
2007 - Kevin Durant > Al Horford, Greg Oden
2008 - Derrick Rose > Russell Westbrook
1995 - Kevin Garnett
1996 - Kobe Bryant
1997 - Tim Duncan
1998 - Dirk Nowitzki
1999 - Manu Ginobili
2000 - Kenyon Martin (in his prime he averaged 16.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1.3 bpg, 49% FG)
2001 - Pau Gasol
2002 - Amare' Stoudemire
2003 - LeBron James
2004 - Dwight Howard
2005 - Chris Paul
2006 - LaMarcus Aldridge
2007 - Kevin Durant
2008 - Derrick Rose
I had forgot that Joe Johnson was a part of the 2001 draft. The two championships aside, as individual players, I'd take Joe over Pau with the first pick personally. It'd be close but I just think Joe is the better player more worthy of a first pick.
I personally can't see Oden ever becoming a guy I would take over Durant. Just not possible. Oden has just been set back far too much to bridge the gap that could be with he and Durant. He's never gonna be able to be the guy you build a team around like people expected. Just not gonna happen. He can become a defensive anchor, but not a superstar. Would you take Ben Wallace over Tracy McGrady? Emeka Okafor over Vince Carter? No, simply because you don't pass on superstar franchise guys, which is what Durant is and Oden will never be. Even at 18,13,3 like someone said before, as VERY doubtful stats as those are, I still wouldn't take him over Durant simply because I know he's injury prone.
Yao was never more valuable then Amare. He was a smart center with a smooth game and incredible height but he was always soft and never aggressive enough to be a top 10 player in the league. He is one of the most over rated players of the last decade, and I dont think he ever won a playoff series.
Amare on the other hand has been the best true power forward (possibly dirk, but im not counting him as a true pf. Amare is still my pick though) in the league since garnett and duncan got old. He will probably still be the top pf in the league for a few more years depending on how long it takes griffin to chisel his game.
Also Amare is still putting up all nba numbers and yao is retired. I mean if you are going to say Yao is better at winning games and is more valuable in the playoffs you would have to show me evidence because I dont believe it exists. I dont see how this can even be an argument. It has been settled ever since amare one the ROY award when he was 18, even though every marketing exec would have wet themselves if Yao won it.
I'm surprised rondo doesn't get a mention for that weak '06 draft. I wouldn't take him over Aldridge or maybe Gay, but he has turned out to be WAY better than anybody anticipated. He's scrappy and he isn't afraid of anybody (I love seeing him D-up on lebron). He's arguably the best player on a team that had 5-6 HOF'ers on it last year. I also have to mention the legendary toughness, who else would've played after that gruesome elbow injury?
2011- Jan Vesely- So tough to guess, my second pick wouldve been valnciunas, then irving, williams, knight, and finally jimmer
2010- John Wall- maybe its too soon, but I think that by the end of next year wall will be in the best pgs in the league discussion
2009- Blake Griffin- I dont think evans curry or jennings will effect the game nearly as much as him
2008- Derrick Rose
2007- Kevin Durant
2006- Lamarcus Aldridge- Brandon Roys knees have me worried, hopefully he can recover
2005- Chris Paul- I like him more than williams, both great point guards though
2004- Dwight Howard
2003- Lebron James
2002- Amare Stoudemire- no brainer IMO
2001- Pau Gasol- this was the hardest one; randolph, joe johnson tony parker, gilber arenas and gerald wallace are all pretty close depending how the rest of their careers go.
2000- Kenyon Martin- close with crawford but martin was a monster on the nets and will still be a valuable veteran for a contender.
1999- Manu Ginobli- I had it between him and baron davis. wouldve loved to have seen francis finish out his career in a healthy manner
1998- Dirk Nowitzski- pierce and carter make this one really close
1997- Tim Duncan
1996- Kobe Bryant
1995- Kevin Garnett
1994- Jason Kidd- maybe Grant hill if he never got injured.
1993- Chris Webber
1992- Shaquille Oneal
1991- Dikembe Mutumbo- I have him over Larry Johnson
1990- Gary Payton
1989- Shawn Kemp- Tough to take him over hardaway but he did reach the finals.
1988- Mitch Richmond
1987- David Robinson- close with scottie pippen
1986- Dennis Rodman- the only hall of famer in the class, the only guy that challenged him real is brad daugherty but rodman is my favorite all time defender
1985- Karl Malone- close between him and ewing
1984- Michael Jordan- pretty tough choice between him and hakeem honestly.
1983- Clyde Drexler
1982- Dominique Wilkins- just a tremendous scorer, IMO better than worthy
1981- Isiah Thomas
1980- Kevin Mchale
1979- Magic Johnson
1978- Larry Bird- Always thought he was drafted first, turns out he was picked 6th
durant over oden all day. but boy I belive that if oden did not get injured he would be the best center in the league by now, even better than howard.he had all the tools for that and he is such a hard worker if he did not get injured he could have maybe something like 25 points and 14 rebounds, 3 blocks. but that`s just a big IF...
A few thoughts since hindsight is 20/20:
1998- Nowitzki for sure. Not much of a toss up to me. Nowitzki is a future surefire HOFer who has played his entire career with one team. Dirk's still playing at an All-NBA level while VC is at best an average shooting guard in the league. I would probably rather pick Paul Pierce than Carter for overall consistancy and effort level.
2002- Stoudemire, no doubt. Hate to hold Ming's injuries against him but the guy has barely played in two years and just retired, while Amare is in his prime.
2006- LaMarcus Aldridge. With Brandon Roy's knee problems, Aldridge and Rajon Rondo are looking like they would have been better players to build around over the long term.
For the purpose of this thread, obviously it doesn't matter what Oden could do if wasn't injured or healthy because we have no exact idea of how good he would be to make a legitimate argument. Oden could be slightly better than Bynum if he were healthy, but if we play that game, then who's to say how good Bynum would be without any injuries? Durant has been miles better than a guy who has missed more NBA games than he's played. I'd choose Durant every single time with no hesitation.
1995 - Kevin Garnett should be number in Hindsight but at the time he was a colege player with some question marks.
1996 - Allen Iverson because even though Kobe is the better player and had better career ,Allen Iverson was very good as he was a MVP,4-time scoring champ, and 11 x All Star.
1997 - Tim Duncan
1998 - Dirk Nowitzki or Paul Pierce because both are very good.
1999 - Elton Brand,but Marion is pretty good and has possibly had the better career.
2000 - Jamal Crawford
2001 - Pau Gasol
2002 - Yao Ming
2003 - Lebron James
2004 - Dwight Howard
2005 - Chris Paul
2006 - Rajon Rondo
2007 - Kevin Durant but it is because Oden's Knees gave up
2008 - Derrick Rose
2009 - Blake Griffin
2010 - John Wall
2011
Here's a thought. Given everything we've seen in their careers, and the type of player he is, would anyone consider Wade over Lebron? Wade has a ring (for what its worth as an individual accomplishment), is a top 3 player in the league, and has displayed more on court leadership and a willingness to maximize his talent (aka driving the ball and getting to the line in most crucial situations)... And because of that, hindsight being what it is and all, Lebron would have joined Wade anyway. Lebron is clearly the most talented player in the league, but Wade is not far behind.
.....Just a thought.
Was a top 5 center in his prime on both ends of the floor, but thats not why you would want him.Yao's value is more then STATS because when yao was injured he was still voted into the all stars lol this reason being he had a whole nation(china) and more watching him thus bringing the rockets in B.R.I from jersey sales, satellite tv, and ticket sales.The Rockets was counting the "yaun" having joint partnerships with china based companies. I got to laugh at this one yao even had a transformer toy he's a world icon thats where his value comes into play he gets the money whether your winning or losing . http://www.freshnessmag.com/v4/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/20081116_0b99ade482cf47abdd2dzjxzxyslv8g6.jpg
Good picks, honestly. I agree with pretty much everyone of your pre-1995 ones. I think that Michael Jordan over Hakeem is not that tough of a choice. Yes, I know that Hakeem was a Center and all, but Michael was the best player in the league, clearly a player you could build around even more so than Hakeem. Also, David Robinson over Scottie Pippen is pretty easy. I guess Scottie is worth mentioning due to his solid career, but if Michael Jordan had David Robinson? Well, that would have been scary. But, if we are considering everything, I think those are the right picks. Post 1995, I would only change 2011 to Kyrie Irving. I think the Cavs made the right choice. Add to the fact that if you are not making free throws at a solid rate, and you expect to play on the perimeter, usually not the best of signs.
If you are going to ask me 5 years from now who the best player to take first in 2002 was, I am sure it will be Amare Stoudemire. But, with all things considered up to this point, Yao Ming did so much on and off the court. I guess if we are taking all of the emotion out and just focusing on basketball, it is a no brainer. But, Yao Ming was still a guy who up until a few months ago, had hope of playing again. He was someone you could build a team around, I think even more so than Amare. Also, remember that Amare missed a good amount of time with injuries as well, and before this year he and Yao had a fairly close game total. I guess I am being sentimental, but I find it hard to pass up on Yao Ming, though I of course would want the player still playing in Amare Stoudemire, if I knew he would still be playing on my team. My measurement is by what each did in 8 years (though Yao would have missed the entirety of that last season), so I chose Yao based on those factors. If we could indeed break the space time continuum and see that Amare would be happy in Houston, he is the pick. I just find it hard to pass over an icon like Yao Ming, but you definitely want the person still playing basketball. Despite Amare's problems with injuries (He does still have some major concerns. See how he faded over the regular season and the play-offs?), he should still have a few very productive years in front of him.
One thing was for sure, and that is Amare Stoudemire should never have slipped to the 9th pick. I remember hearing that he would have had a chance at being the first pick if he had declared as a junior the year before, and that obviously would have been a much better pick than Kwame Brown. There were 4 PF/C's chosen before him in Drew Gooden (Memphis, Jerry West must have nightmares over this one), Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Denver), Maybyner "Nene" Hilario (New York Knicks, later traded to Denver) and Chris Wilcox (Clippers, one pick before Amare). I remember telling someone the top 5 picks in the draft would be Yao Ming, Jason Williams, DaJuan Wagner, Amare Stoudemire and Drew Gooden during the NBA season (he was a sportscaster for Canadian TV, we had bumped into him at the Portland Airport the night after the Raptors had played, coincidentally. We had went to the game and were flying somewhere the next day). That draft was really crazy, and we will look back and say Amare had the best career, but damn is it tough for me to pass on Yao Ming. He is just such an iconic figure and he is a real inspiration. Now, I finally remember a movie I wanted to mention, but slipped my mind yesterday. "The Year of the Yao" was a fantastic watch, and I gained so much respect for Yao Ming watching that. Plus, I do not think I will forget him carrying the Chinese flag during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, with the little earthquake survivor from the Szechuan province. 
Yao did win a playoff series.
2009 Playoffs vs Portland
Not to mention, they took the eventual champion Lakers to 7 gamest that year too.
If 25ppg, 9.5rpg, 2bpg, 2apg while shooting 51% FG and 86% FT isn't dominant for you, I don't know what is.
Let me remind just how dominant Yao was when healthy, he made Dwight Howard, 3-time Defensive Player of the Year, look like a school girl.
Yao Ming vs Dwight Howard; Statistics through nine meetings
Yao Ming: (7-2)
- 23.6 PPG
- 10.4 RPG
- 2.1 BPG
- 56.1% FG
- 79% FT
- 8 FT per G
Dwight Howard: (2-7)
- 12.2 PPG
- 9.8 RPG
- 1.7 BPG
- 45.1% FG
- 60% FT
- 6.7 FT per G
If that's not dominant. I don't know what is.
I posted that head to head the other day, Yao KILLED Dwight. The Lakers to 7 games thing was special, but Yao did only play in the first 3 of the series, losing two. However, his performance in Game 1 was incredibly inspirational, and gave Houston a 1-0 lead. Now, Dwight is not necessarily a school girl because of Yao, he did much of that by his own accord by flaunting his pig tails and trying to sell girl scout cookies to his opponents, but Yao certainly kept that image fresh in our minds while he was on the basketball court. I did not even see what Bobby had written until now, but I do not completely understand the hostility. But, yes, Yao did indeed win a play-off series and as much I could see people feeling he had an unfair level of praise, he was a very special player. Believe me, if there was a 7'6 American who could do what Yao did, he would have gotten a nice level of praise as well. If you say Shawn Bradley, than you should just save me the effort and slap yourself :)
I didnt mean to be hostile, sorry. I mean I respect where your coming from, I definitely can appreciatte the significance of Yao. I just dont think he was ever as good as Amare so I would pick him first.
Mikeyv your favorite poster on this site, I didnt mean to rub you wrong way or anything. Keep doing what your doing man.
Respect
Also the reason that I said it was hard to pass on the dream is that he took houston to their only two championships. Certainly jordan could have possibly gotten them more, but maybe he wouldn't have won any at all, there is no way to tell. I feel that they should have picked jordan but you can't really complain about olajuwan going first
Yeah, I see what you were saying man, just did not know if you knew where I was coming from. I know you, I was not offended. It is hard to forget the poster with the JR Rider mug shot that is honestly the scariest avatar on this site, lol. But, as you said about Houston winning titles with Hakeem, you do have little idea how things would have turned out with Jordan. I guess I have the same apprehension with Amare over Yao, how much further would they have gone? Would he have still been there? I was looking at it from the perspective of the Rockets choosing first and what was meant for them, and there was emotion involved, for sure. But I was not mad at you, just trying to tell you where I was coming from. Guess I was a little shook from the "argument not being rational" thing, so I tried to tell you why I thought it was.
You know, I hadn't thought about it before, but you'd almost have to AT LEAST think about the idea of drafting Wade over LBJ simply because we know up to this point LBJ is more of a #2 and that Wade has been a champ as a #1 option unlike the self proclaimed King.
Just based off of ticket sales and overall marketability, You probably go LBJ nonetheless, but it's at least worth a thought.
1995- Kevin Garnett
1996- Between Iverson or Kobe
1997- Tim Duncan
1998- Between Dirk Nowitzki or Vince Carter
1999- Between Elton Brand or Steve Francis
2000- Kenyon Martin
2001- Pau Gasol
2002- Between Yao Ming or Amare Stoudemire
2003- Lebron James
2004- Dwight Howord
2005- Between Chris Paul or Deron Williams
2006- Brandon Roy
2007- Between Kevin Durant or Greg Oden
2008- Derrick Rose
What is your opinion on these picks