Revisiting the 2003 NBA Draft – My Take
Okay, so the other day I got this idea stuck in my head. The 2003 NBA Draft. Man, what a class. You got LeBron, Wade, Melo, Bosh… just loaded. But we all know how it actually went down, right? With some… questionable picks cough Darko cough. So I thought, why not sit down and actually try to redraft it myself, knowing everything we know now? Just for kicks, see how it shakes out.
First thing I did was pull up the original 2003 draft order. Needed that baseline. Then I grabbed a list of all the guys drafted that year. Not just the first rounders, everyone. Sometimes you find gems later on, you know?
Alright, pick number one. Detroit Pistons were on the clock originally. This was the easiest decision of the whole thing. LeBron James. No brainer. Still the King. Moving on.
Number two, originally Darko Milicic to Detroit (man, that still hurts to think about). This is where it gets fun. I looked at the next tier: Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh. All Hall of Famers. Tough call! I thought about Wade’s peak, those championships, Finals MVP. He brought that intensity. So, I slotted Dwyane Wade in at number two. Felt right.
Next up, Denver Nuggets at three. They originally took Melo. Honestly? I kept Carmelo Anthony right there at three. Pure scorer, carried teams offensively for years. You can’t deny that bucket-getting ability. So, Melo stays put in my redraft.
Toronto Raptors at four. They got Bosh originally. Again, felt like the right spot for him. Chris Bosh was crucial for Toronto and later with the Heat. Versatile big man. So, Bosh stays at four for me.
Now things started shifting more. Miami originally took Wade at five, but he’s gone in my redraft. I looked down the list. Who had a really solid, long career? David West jumped out. Dude was a rock, a great teammate, played crucial roles on good teams. Originally picked 18th. So, I bumped David West way up into my top five.
Sorting Through the Rest
From there, it was a mix-and-match game. I started looking at guys who seriously outperformed their draft spot.
- Kyle Korver: Sharpshooter, played forever. Originally 51st pick! Had to move him way, way up. Probably lottery in my redraft.
- Kirk Hinrich: Solid point guard for a long time with the Bulls. Original #7 pick, seemed about right, maybe slipped a tiny bit but still a solid lottery guy in the redo.
- Boris Diaw: So versatile! Won a ring, could do a bit of everything. Originally 21st. Definitely moved him up.
- Mo Williams: All-Star guard, good scorer. Originally 47th. Another guy who massively outperformed his draft slot.
I went down the original list, player by player. Looked at their careers, their impact. Some guys who went high just didn’t pan out. Darko is the obvious one. But others like Maciej Lampe (30th), Ndudi Ebi (26th), Reece Gaines (15th)… just didn’t have the careers folks expected. It happens.
It was actually pretty fun just going through the names. Remembering guys like Kendrick Perkins (originally 27th, had a solid career as an enforcer), Leandro Barbosa (originally 28th, Sixth Man of the Year), Zaza Pachulia (originally 42nd, long career, couple rings). You start appreciating those solid role players who stuck around.
So, I kept plugging guys into the slots based on their overall careers. It wasn’t just about stats, but longevity, roles on winning teams, stuff like that. Filled out the first round, basically. It looked way different from the original 2003 draft, that’s for sure, especially after the top 4.
Finished up my list, looked it over. Felt pretty good about it. It’s wild how much hindsight changes things. That 2003 draft was truly something special, though. Even with the misses, the amount of talent was just incredible. Fun little exercise to see how it could have gone.
