02-19-2005, 06:50 AM
So watching the rookie/sophmore game (which was lots of fun), it became painfully obvious that the NBA is trying to push hard the fact that they've got some great young talent. Of course, they do. Lebron James is just incredible, and following him is a long list of future stars. So I was looking back to the last time there was a real influx of talent, and wondering how this generation will compare.
1984: Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Charles Barkley, Alvin Robertson, Otis Thorpe, Kevin Willis, John Stockton
1985: Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, Terry Catledge, A.C. Green, Terry Porter, Manute Bol, Gerald Wilkins, Arvydas Sabonis, Spud Webb
2003: LeBron James, Darko Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, TJ Ford, Michael Sweetney, Jarvis Hayes, Luke Ridnour, Josh Howard, Kyle Korver, Marquis Daniels
2004: Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Shaun Livingston, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, JR Smith, Tony Allen, Beno Udrih, Chris Duhon, Trevor Ariza, Andres Nocioni
Of course, we won't be able to truly compare the two eras for at least another decade, but it's fun to speculate. How good are the last two draft classes?
1984: Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Charles Barkley, Alvin Robertson, Otis Thorpe, Kevin Willis, John Stockton
1985: Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, Terry Catledge, A.C. Green, Terry Porter, Manute Bol, Gerald Wilkins, Arvydas Sabonis, Spud Webb
2003: LeBron James, Darko Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, TJ Ford, Michael Sweetney, Jarvis Hayes, Luke Ridnour, Josh Howard, Kyle Korver, Marquis Daniels
2004: Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Shaun Livingston, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, JR Smith, Tony Allen, Beno Udrih, Chris Duhon, Trevor Ariza, Andres Nocioni
Of course, we won't be able to truly compare the two eras for at least another decade, but it's fun to speculate. How good are the last two draft classes?