The top of the lottery

Allen Iverson went #1 to the Philadelphia 76ers — the smallest #1 overall pick in NBA history at a generously listed 6’0″. Marcus Camby went #2 to Toronto, Shareef Abdur-Rahim #3 to Vancouver, Stephon Marbury #4 to Milwaukee (immediately traded to Minnesota for Ray Allen). Ray Allen went #5 to Milwaukee in the same trade.

Then a stretch of solid pros (Antoine Walker #6 to Boston, Lorenzen Wright #7, Kerry Kittles #8, Samaki Walker #9, Erick Dampier #10) before Todd Fuller at #11 — the only obvious miss in the lottery. Vitaly Potapenko went #12, then Kobe Bryant at #13 to Charlotte.

The Kobe trade and the Lakers' opening

Charlotte selected Kobe with the intent of trading him. Lakers GM Jerry West engineered the deal: Bryant for veteran center Vlade Divac, freeing Lakers cap space to sign Shaquille O’Neal away from Orlando in the same offseason. The two transactions reshaped the next decade.

Steve Nash — drafted #15 by Phoenix — wasn’t a star until his second stint with the Suns starting in 2004, but eventually won back-to-back MVPs (2005, 2006). Jermaine O’Neal (#17 to Portland), Peja Stojakovic (#14 to Sacramento), and Ben Wallace (undrafted) all became multi-time All-Stars.

1996 vs 1984 vs 2003

1984 (Hakeem, Jordan, Barkley, Stockton) is the strongest counter — four HOFers including arguably the GOAT — but it’s a top-heavy class with thin depth. 2003 (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Anthony, Kaman, Hinrich) was elite at the top but less deep.

1996 wins on combined volume: 4 HOFers, 16 All-Stars, four MVPs (Iverson 2001, Nash 2005 & 2006, Kobe 2008), and complementary careers across positions. ESPN’s 2024 ranking of the best NBA drafts has 1996 at #1, 1984 at #2, and 2003 at #3.

Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on 1996 NBA Draft and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records. Lead image via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).