I've got good news: the NBA is about to experience a renaissance of grand proportions.
It's about time, too, because we have to start reconciling with a mighty significant past. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double in the 1960's; Moses Malone became the first guy good enough to enter the big leagues right out of high school in the 1970's; Magic and Larry Legend gave us countless classic duels in the 1980's; and in the 1990's, Air Jordan became the first man to fly.
But the basketball gods did not forget about our generation, nor did they ask us to be content with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. For the first time in years, the league is full of fantastic youngsters who offer real promise for the seasons ahead. Consider this column part of my relentless pursuit to make people at Tufts half as excited about the NBA as I am.
Since the guys drafted in 2003 are the oldest ones still bound to their rookie contracts, let's start by looking at them. This draft was one for the ages - it was at best the deepest and most talented draft ever and at worst the most fruitful draft of the last decade. Four of the top five picks are already bona-fide stars, and seven of the top eight are great players for playoff teams. Too bad Darko mars the landscape a little bit; blame Detroit and its inexplicable overestimation of Tayshaun Prince. In any case, everyone remembers that this draft yielded LeBron, Melo, Chris Bosh, and D-Wade. But the talent did not end there.
People often forget about Chris Kaman, an emerging inside presence for the Clippers and possessor of perhaps the ugliest haircut ever to make it onto national television. Kirk Hinrich is averaging 15 points and over six assists per game as the Bulls' starting point guard, and T.J. Ford, Milwaukee's point guard who returned from back surgery, has elevated the Bucks from the doldrums of the league into an over-.500 club.
Luke Ridnour, David West, Boris Diaw, Mo Williams and Kyle Korver are also products of this draft. In fact, the draft was so deep that the Mavericks managed to pick up their current second option and 2003 ACC Player of the Year, Josh Howard, with the last pick of the first round.
Though 2004's draft was not as deep, the top five picks are all future all-stars. If his back holds up, Emeka Okafor could elicit comparisons to Tim Duncan because of his mastery of the fundamentals and inspirational work ethic. Second pick Dwight Howard's rebounding prowess is beyond impressive now and could eventually rival or even exceed Charles Barkley's. That's right: the Round Mound of Rebound might have a tall, skinny successor. I have been thoroughly unimpressed with third pick Ben Gordon through the first 36 minutes of each game in which he plays, but the guy somehow morphs into a genuine superstar in the fourth quarters of close games. His late-game spectaculars were good enough to win him the Sixth Man of the Year award as a rookie, and his knack for game-winning theatrics will only improve with time.
Magic Johnson privately tutored fourth pick Shaun Livingston, loudly proclaimed his talent and assured us fans that we are watching the development of a truly great point guard. And I can promise you the same thing about fifth pick Devin Harris - this guy is learning how to harness his athleticism and use it to make his teammates better, and I couldn't be more excited about his future.
Sebastian Telfair, Stephon Marbury's cousin and the 13th pick out of high school, could wind up making a few all-star teams as well, and so could the Celtics' Al Jefferson (hopefully I'll win some points with the locals by pointing this out).
2005 presented us with another great top five. Top pick Andrew Bogut will either live up to the hype or be a tall white center we can call "Bogus" - so we win either way. Bill Walton says that second pick Marvin Williams has "tremendous upside," and if Bill Walton says so, it must be true. And the third, fourth and fifth picks - Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Raymond Felto - were all fantastic college point guards.
Paul is currently playing the best of any of these guys; his numbers are slightly better than Jason Kidd's, and that's without teammates even close to the likes of Vince Carter or Richard Jefferson to score or draw the defense. Perhaps most impressively, Paul has already emerged as an on-the-court and off-the-court leader and has the formerly lowly Hornets poised for a playoff berth.
Channing Frye, the eighth pick in 2005, could also become a perennial all-star if Larry Brown ever decides to play him more than twenty minutes every other night.
I've thrown a lot of names at you in the last few paragraphs, but the most exciting thing is that so many of them are point guards. And now is the perfect time for talented point guards to enter the league, because naming Steve Nash as MVP last year marked a return to the glorification of the guys whose highlights are no-look bounce passes instead of slam dunks. Prior to last year, and not counting MJ, nine of the last 10 MVPs were either power forwards or centers. No wonder people think the game has gotten boring! Dominant 300-pounders have been clogging up the middle, slowing down the game and lulling everyone to sleep with their drop-steps.
But Devin Harris and Chris Paul are neither slow nor predictable. Neither is T.J. Ford, Mo Williams, or even shooting guard Dwyane Wade. They're fast, they're spontaneous and they're on the verge of ushering in the most exciting NBA era in decades. And the last three drafts provided all of these point guards with athletic swingmen and forwards who can catch and finish their passes. It's showtime, redux, but without the short shorts.
