Three of the top five picks of the 2003 NBA Draft will start in tonight’s 2011 NBA All-Star Game, and another will come off the bench. It’s been that way for years, and will probably continue to remain that way because the 2003 draft class was just that special.
2003 NBA Draft Class Continues To Dominate All-Star Game
LeBron James topped the 2003 draft, and was the leading vote-getter among Eastern Conference forwards despite becoming a huge villain over the summer with his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. His teammate Dwyane Wade, the No. 5 pick in 2003, led East guards in All-Star voting. They'll be joined by Heat teammate Chris Bosh, 2003's No. 4 pick, who earned a spot as an Eastern All-Star reserve by coaches' vote.
On the West team, Carmelo Anthony, the No. 3 pick in 2003, will start at forward. Rumors have suggested he could be traded to the Eastern Conference by the Feb. 24 NBA trade deadline, with the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. That'd give the East All-Stars four of the top five picks from 2003. What about the fifth?
Oh, Darko Milicic.
Darko has sadly never made the All-Star team, and despite that fact that his boss, Wolves GM David Kahn, thinks he's on the right track, he will almost assuredly never make it there. His selection at No. 2 in 2003 remains a stain on Joe Dumars' ledger, one that Dumars wouldn't have survived had his Detroit Pistons not won the 2004 NBA Championship.
Four other members of the 2003 draft class -- Chris Kaman (No. 6), David West (No. 18), Josh Howard (No. 29) and Mo Williams (No. 47) -- have made previous All-Star Games, but the real star power in Sunday's game, and really the NBA as a whole, lies at the top of the 2003 draft. It's unlikely we'll ever see another draft like it.
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