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. 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.
Return to the
Top 10 List and 2000's Drafts
Check out the Drafts from
1970 to 1999 (Michael, Larry, Julius, Pete..)
1969 to 1949
1969 C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Bobby Smith
SF: Jo Jo White
SG: Butch Beard
PG: Lucius Allen
1968 C: Elvin Hayes (HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Wes Unseld (HALL OF FAMER)
SF: Bob Kauffman
SG: Don Chaney
PG: Ron Williams
1967 C: Mel Daniels
PF: Sonny Dove
SF: Jimmy Walker
SG: Walt Frazier (HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Earl Monroe (HALL OF FAMER)
1966 C: Walt Wesley
PF: Jack Marin
SF: Cazzie Russell
SG: Lou Hudson
PG: Dave Bing (HALL OF FAMER)
(#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)
1964 C: Mel Counts
PF: Lucious Jackson
SF: Joe Caldwell
SG: Jeff Mullins
PG: Walt Hazzard
1963 C: Nate Thurmond (HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Art Heyman
SF: Rod Thorn
SG: Roger Strickland
PG: Ed Miles
(#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)
1961 C: Walt Bellamy (HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Ray Scott
SF: Tom Meschery
SG: Ben Warley
PG: Larry Siegfried
(#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)
1959 C: Wilt Chamberlain (HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Bob Boozer
SF: Bailey Howell (HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Johnny Green
PG: Dick Barnett
1958 C: Connie Dierking
PF: Archie Dees
SF: Dave Gambee
SG: Elgin Baylor (HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Guy Rodgers
1957 C: Charles Tyra
PF: Jim Krebs
SF: Win Wilfong
SG: Sam Jones (HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Hot Rod Hundley
1956 C: Bill Russell (HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Joe Holup
SF: Tom Heinsohn (HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Ron Sobie
PG: Sihugo Green
1955 C: Ken Sears
PF: Dick Ricketts
SF: Maurice Stokes (HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Tom Gola (HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Dick Garmaker
1954 C: Johnny Kerr
PF: Ed Kalafat
SF: Bob Pettit (HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Frank Selvy
PG: Gene Shue
1953 C: Walter Dukes
PF: Ray Felix
SF: Bob Houbregs (HALL OF FAMER)
SG: Frank Ramsey (HALL OF FAMER)
PG: Richie Regan
1952 C: Clyde Lovelette (HALL OF FAMER)
PF: Ralph Polson
SF: Bill Mlkvy
SG: Jim Baechtold
PG: Dick Groat
1951 C: Ed Smith
PF: Mel Hutchins
SF: Ernie Barrett
SG: Don Sunderlage
PG: Whitey Skoog
(#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)
(# 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)
Return to the Top 10 List and 2000's Drafts
Check out the Drafts from
1970 to 1999 (Michael, Larry, Julius, Pete..)
