Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Scott Davis. The NBA draft class is iconic. We imagined how the class would be re-drafted today, knowing how players' careers turned out.
Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Kobe Bryant was selected with the 13th overall pick, which the Lakers acquired from the Hornets. In a re-draft, Bryant would go No. Bryant died in Steve Nash was drafted by the Suns fourth overall. Nash would go second today. He's now the coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Allen Iverson went No. In a re-draft, Iverson would go third, narrowly behind Bryant and Nash. Iverson was an electric player who averaged Ray Allen was drafted fifth overall by the Wolves, but was traded to the Bucks.
The class won a combined 26 NBA championships. Along with its championship pedigree, the group combined for 56 All-Star appearances. The class has the edge in championships The class has the edge in All-NBA selections. The class also has a slight advantage in All-Star appearances Both drafts moved the needle and changed the league. The class had more star-power overall.
The alternate realities are endless. The triangle offense wouldn't be in New York right now, it would be in New Jersey. A superstar talent such as Bryant could've helped the Nets own the rival Knicks in the post-Patrick Ewing era.
Think of a generation of basketball fans growing up watching Kobe Bryant playing in the New Jersey area. It was there for the taking. Does Calipari still get fired a few games after that trade? And if there's no Marbury, Williams might've never broken his leg Marbury rolled into Williams' leg , which effectively ended his career. What most do not question, however, is as a Net, Bryant still would have fulfilled his vast potential despite New Jersey's disappointing past with young talent such as Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson.
He is one of the best of all time. Williams says Bryant's relentless desire to win and supreme confidence in his own talent could have either transformed or torn the Nets apart. From all the stuff that I see with Kobe, he is one of those guys who comes in and works hard [like Jordan] Williams and some others wonder how Bryant might've fit in with the Nets as a teenager.
The Nets won only 26 games that season. Kittles averaged According to the simulator, the Nets would have finished with Bryant, who averaged 7. The simulator had Kittles scoring The following season, the Nets had the seventh pick in the draft but traded the rights to Tim Thomas along with Jackson, Montross and Anthony Parker in a deal for second overall pick Van Horn.
Nash says he thinks the Nets would have won more with Bryant that first season and perhaps ended up with a lower pick and not have been able to trade for Van Horn. If the Nets had ended up with, say, the ninth pick overall in , another prep prospect named Tracy McGrady was selected by Toronto at that pick that year. But he was not near [Kobe's] level, even at that age. He was very respectful but he had that certain kind of killer instinct even at years old.
For this exercise, let's assume the Nets still end up with Van Horn. The Nets that season with Kittles and Van Horn won 43 games and made the playoffs, before being swept by Jordan and the Bulls in the first round. Doolittle's simulation had that cast going in and earning the fifth seed before being swept by Charlotte in the first round with Bryant averaging The simulator also had the Lakers winning 66 games with Kittles as sixth man.
Certainly, the Nets weren't the most stable organization. Fans of the franchise felt cursed by horrific luck such as Drazen Petrovic's death in and Williams' shattered leg.
Bryant certainly would have had to overcome road blocks that come with playing for a losing franchise, obstacles he didn't have with the Lakers. I found that very, very frustrating.
And maybe he wouldn't have flourished in New Jersey. The Nets would have had Bryant under his rookie contract for three seasons before free agency. Perhaps Bryant just leaves or demands a trade at some point. And what of Calipari? As a younger coach, Calipari's style didn't always mesh with the veterans. And he was brutal on Kittles. You are going to give me a fing aneurysm. We were at the Garden getting our ass whooped.
Cal was under tremendous pressure," Williams said. But who would have thought Kobe would be the second-best player in the world? By , Calipari was fired after a start. The new ownership group led by Katz and Chambers wanted to win. They traded for Marbury and had their eyes on building a Newark arena.
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