Looking Back to the 2003 NBA Draft
Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade among 2003 Rookies
This June marks the four-year anniversary of the 2003 NBA Draft. Hindsight offers a better picture of which teams were most successful in that draft.
The 2003 NBA Draft is widely considered one of the strongest drafts of all time, featuring Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade among others.
James may have been one of the most hyped players ever coming directly out of high school. It may have been karma that he was picked by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. He would not disappoint. In four seasons, he has turned the Cavaliers around from being a steady lottery team to being a high-seeded playoff team. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 2004, despite barely missing the playoffs, with a 20.9 points per game average, to go along with 5.5 rebounds per game and 5.9 assists per game. He followed that impressive performance in 2005 with 27.2 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game and 7.2 assists per game. In 2006, he broke the 30-point barrier (31.4 points per game). At just 22 years old, James is one of the league's brightest young superstars.
The Detroit Pistons held the second pick of the draft, despite winning the Championship that season. They obtained the pick from the Memphis Grizzlies as a result of a trade involving Otis Thorpe years prior. Though the popular choice was Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony, who had just led his team to the NCAA title, the Pistons selected project forward Darko Milicic, whose upside was considered top-flight. Milicic failed to make it off Detroit's deep bench and disappointed in his campaign with the Piston's. He was eventually traded to the Orlando Magic, where he has shown promise. He's coming off his best season (and hoping for a new contract) averaging 8.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and 1.8 blocks per game in about 24 minutes a night.
The Denver Nuggets nabbed Carmelo Anthony with the fourth pick of the draft. His career has been stellar, but he's had to deal with playing the shadow of Lebron James and Dwayne Wade, who many contend have had slightly better careers to this point. Known primarly as a scorer, Anthony has been criticized for not being as complete of a player as James and Wade. He's coming off his best scoring season, averaging 28.9 points per game to go along with 6.0 rebounds per game. He still needs to improve on his decision-making, having turned the ball over 3.6 times per game with only 3.8 assists per game to show for it.
The list of stars continues in the 2003 draft, as the Toronto Raptors selected forward Chris Bosh with the fourth pick. Bosh has been the focal point of the young Raptors team and has helped turned them around. After averaging just 11.5 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game in his rookie season, he's evolved to a stat line of 22.6 points per game and 10.7 boards per game in 38 minutes of work per night in 2006-2007. Moreover, he led the Raptors to their first division title this season.
The Miami Heat held the fifth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. Rumor had it that Pat Riley wanted to take Connecticut forward Emeka Okafor with the pick. When Okafor took his name out of the draft, the Heat opted for athletic guard, Dwayne Wade. The picked surprised some, as Wade was thought to be too small (listed as 6-4) to play shooting guard at the NBA level. He had significantly increased his draft stock at the draft camps, but most experts still didn't predict him to go much higher than between picks 8-10. Ultimately, Wade led the Miami Heat to an NBA Championship, with the help of Shaquille O'Neal, in 2005. He has a career average of 23.8 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 6.4 assists per game. He's scored around 27 points per game in each of the last two seasons, though he does have a bit of a problem with turnovers. He has averaged 4.2 turnovers twice in his four-year career thus far.
Among the list of other solid contributors to come out of the 2003 Draft are:
Chris Kaman, Los Angeles Clippers
Selected with the sixth pick, Kaman has been solid when he's been healthy. His best season was in 2005-2006, when he averaged 12.0 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Kirk Hinrich, Chicago Bulls
Selected seventh overall, Hinrich is considered by many experts to be the glue of the Bulls' team. He's coming off his best statistical season, averaging 16.6 points per game and 6.3 assists per game in 80 games.
T.J. Ford, Toronto Raptors
Ford was drafted just after Hinrich by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was eventually traded to the Raptors for forward Charlie Villanueva. Ford was a key player in the Raptors winning their division title this season, after averaging 14.0 points per game and 7.9 assists per game.
Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns
The Suns drafted Barbosa with the 28th pick. He recently was named 6th Man of the Year in 2007 after averaging 18.1 points per game.
Josh Howard, Dallas Mavericks
Howard was named to the Western Conference All Star team for the first time in 2007. He also helped the Mavs reach the NBA Championship Game in 2005. He's coming off his best season, averaging 18.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game.
With so much depth and star power, this draft really changed many franchises around. James lived up to the ridiculous hype he'd been receiving; Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade evolved into stars in their own right, as did Chris Bosh; and their were several other players who made names for themselves with their respective teams. This rush of rising stars could not have come at a better time, with many stars starting to lose their magic due to age and injury, and other stars retiring.
Also check out:
"Looking Back to the 2006 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 2005 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 2004 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 2002 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 2001 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 2000 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 1999 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 1998 NBA Draft"
"Looking Back to the 1997 NBA Draft"
