If you took the 1984 NBA Draftees
and squared them off against the 1965 draftees, who would be the winner?
CHN's Jon Teitel takes a look at the best starting five's from every NBA
Draft since 1949 (of players chosen in the 1st round). The best year's starting five may surprise you (it
doesn't include Michael Jordan), but it's hard to argue with a line-up for
four Hall of Famers. Included first are the Top 10 Draft starting
line-ups, followed by a chronological list of the best starting five from
every NBA Draft.
Top Ten List
Rank - Year
Position - Name - Overall Pick -
Accolades
#1. 1965
C: Fred Hetzel (1: Career 11.2 PPG)
PF: Billy Cunningham (7: HALL OF FAMER)
SF: Bill Bradley (2: HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Rick Barry (4: HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Gail Goodrich (10: HALL OF FAMER)
#2. 1984
C: Hakeem Olajuwon (1: Career 21.8 PPG, 12-time All-Star)
PF: Sam Perkins (4: Career 11.9 PPG)
SF: Charles Barkley (5: Career 22.1 PPG, 10-time All-Star)
SG: Michael Jordan (3: Career 30.1 PPG, 5-time MVP)
PG: John Stockton (16: Career 13.1 PPG, 10-time All-Star)
#3. 1970
C: Bob Lanier (1: HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Dave Cowens (4: HALL OF FAMER)
SF: Rudy Tomjanovich (2: Career 17.4 PPG, 5-time All-Star)
SG: Geoff Petrie (8: Career 21.8 PPG, 2-time All-Star)
PG: Pete Maravich (3: HALL OF FAMER)
#4. 1960
C: Darrall Imhoff (3: Career 7.2 PPG, 1-time All-Star)
PF: Tom Sanders (8: Career 9.6 PPG)
SF: Oscar Robertson (1: HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Jerry West (2: HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Lenny Wilkens (6: HALL OF FAMER)
#5. 1950
C: Charlie Share (2: Career 8.3 PPG)
PF: Larry Foust (3: Career 13.7 PPG, 8-time All-Star)
SF: Paul Arizin (8: HALL OF FAMER)
SG: George Yardley (4: HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Bob Cousy (11: HALL OF FAMER)
#6. 1962
C: Zelmo Beaty (3: Career 16 PPG, 3-time All-Star)
PF: Dave DeBusschere (4: HALL OF FAMER)
SF: Jerry Lucas (6: HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Leroy Ellis (8: Career 9.7 PPG)
PG: John Havlicek (9: HALL OF FAMER)
#7. 1949
C: Ed Macauley (11: HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Vern Mikkelsen (6: HALL OF FAMER)
SF: Alex Groza (5: Career 22.5 PPG, 1-time All-Star)
SG: Wallace Jones (12: Career 10.1 PPG)
PG: Dick McGuire (7: HALL OF FAMER)
#8. 1996
C: Jermaine O’Neal (17: Career 13.3 PPG, 3-time All-Star)
PF: Antoine Walker (6: Career 19.8 PPG, 3-time All-Star)
SF: Kobe Bryant (13: Career 22.4 PPG, 6-time All-Star)
SG: Ray Allen (4: Career 20.6 PPG, 4-time All-Star)
PG: Allen Iverson (1: Career 27.4 PPG, 5-time All-Star)
#9. 1987
C: David Robinson (1: Career 21.1 PPG, 10-time All-Star)
PF: Horace Grant (10: Career 11.2 PPG, 1-time All-Star)
SF: Scottie Pippen (5: Career 16.1 PPG, 7-time All-Star)
SG: Reggie Miller (11: Career 18.2 PPG, 5-time All-Star)
PG: Kevin Johnson (7: Career 17.9 PPG, 3-time All-Star)
#10. 1999
C: Elton Brand (1: Career 19.5 PPG, 1-time All-Star)
PF: Andrei Kirilenko (24: Career 13.4 PPG, 1-time All-Star)
SF: Shawn Marion (9: Career 18.2 PPG, 1-time All-Star)
SG: Steve Francis (2: Career 19.7 PPG, 3-time All-Star)
PG: Baron Davis (3: Career 15.6 PPG, 2-time All-Star)
Other drafts (in chronological order):
Check out the Drafts from
1970 to 1999 (Michael, Larry, Julius, Pete..)
Check out from
1949 to 1969 (Kareem, Oscar, Bill, Wilt..)
2000's
2004 C: Emeka Okafor
PF: Dwight Howard
SF: Andre Iguodala
SG: Ben Gordon
PG: Devin Harris
2003 C: Chris Kaman
PF: Chris Bosh
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Dwayne Wade
PG: Lebron James
2002 C: Yao Ming
PF: Amare Stoudemire
SF: Drew Gooden
SG: Tayshaun Prince
PG: Juan Dixon
2001 C: Zach Randolph
PF: Pau Gasol
SF: Richard Jefferson
SG: Joe Johnson
PG: Tony Parker
2000 C: Jamaal Magloire
PF: Kenyon Martin
SF: Mike Miller
SG: Quentin Richardson
PG: Jamal Crawford
Check out the Drafts from
1970 to 1999 (Michael, Larry, Julius, Pete..)
Check out from
1949 to 1969 (Kareem, Oscar, Bill, Wilt..)
