Best Draft Class Ever: The Case for 1996

With the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected some high school kid from Philadelphia. After a draft day trade to the Lakers, a few air balls in the playoffs and a Zen-like coach, Kobe Bryant became a three-time World Champion with Los Angeles. Whether you love him or hate him, you can not deny that Kobe is one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Even lower than Kobe, Phoenix drafted Steve Nash with the 15th pick in 1996. Who would have known that a Canadian out of Santa Clara would become a two-time league MVP (Mark Cuban probably didn’t think this would happen when he let Nash leave Dallas). Nash makes everyone look like a superstar and took the Suns to the sixth game of the western conference finals without Amare Stoudemire. If the mark of a great player is making your teammates better, Nash is one of the best.

Jermaine O’Neal is also a member of the 1996 draft class. After sitting on the bench for four years in Portland, O’Neal broke out after being traded to Indiana and won the Most Improved Player award. Now he is a perennial all-star and the leader of the Pacers. Do you think that high schoolers Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry would have been drafted in the top four picks if Kobe and O’Neal were not as good as they are?

You also might not mind having a few other guys from the 1996 class on your team: Stephon Marbury (the Knicks seem to like him), Ray Allen, Peja Stojakovic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker and Kerry Kittles. Even Derek Fisher and Samaki Walker have championship rings.

The 1996 draft class has everything: superstars who can score 81 points in a game, most valuable players, all-stars, world champions and role players. It is obviously the best class the NBA draft has seen.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/nbadraftclass/