Best starting line-up for each NBA draft over the last 20-years (1998-2018)
- Philip Jurkovsky
- Mar 28, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 29, 2019
Hindsight is an NBA fan’s greatest tool. The ability to look back and harshly critique any and every key moment in the history of the NBA is what makes being a fan so satisfying.
In this circumstance, I decided to put on my hindsight cap and delve deep into the NBA draft archives.
We hear constantly about which draft class was ‘stacked‘, or which draft produced the biggest ’steal’, or even which draft class was a complete flop.
The 2003 NBA draft is well known for being touted as having the most talented draft pool over the past two decades. From an overall perspective, the 2003 draft has produced arguably the most talented draft pool in recent history.
However, when it comes to creating the best possible line-up for each draft, using players only drafted in their respective year and in their traditional positions — which draft class comes out on top? Well, you can decide.
Here are the best starting line-ups and sixth man for each draft year. (Pick number player was drafted with in brackets)
1998
PG: Mike Bibby (2)
SG: Vince Carter (5)
SF: Paul Pearce (10)
PF: Antawn Jamison (4)
C: Dirk Nowitzki (9)
6th: Jason Williams (7)
1999
PG: Baron Davis (3)
SG: Manu Ginobli (57)
SF: Shaun Marion (9)
PF: Lamar Odom (4)
C: Elton Brand (1)
6th: Andre Hamilton (7)
2000
PG: Jamal Crawford (8)
SG: Michael Redd (43)
SF: Mike Miller (5)
PF: Hedo Türkoglu (16)
C: Jamaal Magloire (19)
6th: Kenyon Martin (1)
2001
PG: Tony Parker (28)
SG: Joe Johnson (10)
SF: Richard Jefferson (13)
PF: Pau Gasol (3)
C: Tyson Chandler (2)
6th: Jason Richardson (5)
2002
PG: Juan Carlos Navarro (40)
SG: John Salmons (26)
SF: Tayshaun Prince (23)
PF: Amar’e Stoudemire (9)
C: Yao Ming (1)
6th: Caron Butler (10)
2003
PG: Kirk Hinrich (7)
SG: Dwyane Wade (5)
SF: Carmelo Anthony (3)
PF: Lebron James (1)
C: Chris Bosh (4)
6th: David West (18)
2004
PG: Devin Harris (5)
SG: J.R Smith (18)
SF: Andre Iguodola (9)
PF: Emeka Okafor (2)
C: Dwight Howard (1)
6th: Luol Deng (7)
2005
PG: Chris Paul (4)
SG: Deron Williams (3)
SF: Danny Granger (17)
PF: David Lee (30)
C: Andrew Bogut (1)
6th: Andrew Bynum (10)
2006
PG: Rajon Rondo (21)
SG: J.J Redick (11)
SF: Rudy Gay (8)
PF: Paul Millsap (47)
C: LaMarcus Aldridge (2)
6th: Kyle Lowry (24)
2007
PG: Mike Conley (4)
SG: Arron Afflalo (27)
SF: Kevin Durant (2)
PF: Al Horford (3)
C: Marc Gasol (48)
6th: Joakim Noah (9)
2008
PG: Derrick Rose (1)
SG: Russell Westbrook (4)
SF: Nicolas Batum (25)
PF: Kevin Love (5)
C: DeAndre Jordan (35)
6th: Serge Ibaka (24)
2009
PG: Stephen Curry (7)
SG: James Harden (3)
SF: Danny Green (45)
PF: Blake Griffin (1)
C: Jordan Hill (8)
6th: DeMar DeRozan (9)
2010
PG: John Wall (1)
SG: Avery Bradley (19)
SF: Paul George (10)
PF: DeMarcus Cousins (5)
C: Hassan Whiteside (33)
6th: Gordon Hayward (9)
2011
PG: Kyrie Irving (1)
SG: Klay Thompson (11)
SF: Jimmy Butler (30)
PF: Kawhi Leonard (15)
C: Nikola Vucevic (16)
6th: Kemba Walker (9)
2012
PG: Damian Lilliard (6)
SG: Bradley Beal (3)
SF: Draymond Green (35)
PF: Anthony Davis (1)
C: Andre Drummond (9)
6th: Khris Middleton (39)
2013
PG: Victor Oladipo (2)
SG: C J McCollum (10)
SF: Otto Porter Jr (3)
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo (15)
C: Rudy Gobert (27)
6th: Steven Adams (12)
2014
PG: Eldrid Payton (10)
SG: Zach Lavine (13)
SF: Aaron Gordon (4)
PF: Nikola Jokic
C: Joel Embiid (3)
6th: Andrew Wiggins (1)
2015
PG: D’Angelo Russell (2)
SG: Devin Booker (13)
SF: Justise Winslow (10)
PF: Kristaps Porzingis (4)
C: Karl-Anthony Towns (1)
6th: Myles Turner (11)
2016
PG: Ben Simmons (1)
SG: Jamal Murray (7)
SF: Brandon Ingram (2)
PF: Domantas Sabonis (11)
C: Jakob Pöltl (9)
6th: Jaylen Brown (3)
2017
PG: De’Aaron Fox (5)
SG: Donovan Mitchell (13)
SF: Jayson Tatum (3)
PF: Lauri Markkanen (5)
C: Jarrett Allen (22)
6th: Dennis Smith Jr (9)
2018
PG: Trae Young (5)
SG: Kevin Huerter (19)
SF: Luka Doncic (3)
PF: Jared Jackson Jr (4)
C: DeAndre Ayton (1)
6th: Marvin Bagley III (2)
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