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The NBA draft class of 1996 has often been regarded as one of the best in league history. Sports Illustrated ranked it as the second-best in history after the class of 1984, although I'm inclined to place 1996 as the best one myself. That is because of the sheer depth of talent and career accomplishments that each player has accumulated over the years.
5 out of the first 6 picks of the draft made it to at least one All-Star game. The only one who didn't make it was a Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in blocks per game four times. An undrafted player went on to become an All Star and a multiple winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award. 8 players from this draft class went on to be named to at least one All-NBA team at some point in their careers.
Derek Fisher was drafted with the 24th pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. He won 5 championships and made it to 8 NBA Finals in total, and he's, at best, a fringe contender for this list and does not make the cut for the top 10 here. The following players are our honorable mentions for this list:
Marcus Camby
Marcus Camby was drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the second overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft. While he never made an All-Star team due to not being that great of an offensive player, Camby was a dominant defensive player at his best.
He received Defensive Player of the Year honors for the 2006-07 season with the Denver Nuggets. In his sophomore season, he was already the most prolific shot-blocker in the league with an average of 3.7 blocks per game! Through the course of a long and largely successful career, Camby had 6 seasons averaging a points/rebounds double-double.
He was named to 4 All-Defensive teams and led the league in blocks per game for 3 consecutive seasons from 2005-06 to 2007-08. In a playing career of 17 years, Camby left a significant impact on the game.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Shareef Abdur-Rahim was one of the most NBA-ready prospects in the draft class, and was snapped up by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the 3rd pick. He justified his pick during his rookie contract, averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game during his first 5 years in the league with the Grizzlies.
He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2001, among other players, as the Grizzlies acquired the 3rd pick of that draft (Pau Gasol) and a couple of other pieces. He made his first and only All Star team with the Hawks in his first season at Atlanta, finishing the season with averages of 21.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks.
Abdur-Rahim played a total of 13 seasons in the league, averaging 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.
With the 10th overall pick, the Indiana Pacers select Antoine Walker
The Boston Celtics drafted Walker with the 6th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. Walker, who came into the league after 2 years with the Kentucky Wildcats, became one of the Celtics' foundational pieces quite early, making his first All-Star game appearance in 1998. He finished that season averaging 22.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
His burden was reduced as Paul Pierce emerged as the Celtics' new alpha dog over the course of the next few years, but Walker continued his dominant play in the frontcourt during the course of 7 years at Boston. He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2003, playing in a reduced role alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison.
He was then traded for a year to the Atlanta Hawks, who then traded him to back to the Celtics after the All-Star break. In 2 years with the Heat after that, Walker played a crucial role in the championship-winning roster of 2005-06. His last season was with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were tanking to obtain a high pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Walker has a total of 3 All-Star game appearances (1998, 2002, 2003).
With the 9th overall pick, the Dallas Mavericks select Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Among all the players LeBron James played with during his first spell with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Zydrunas 'Big Z' Ilgauskas was easily the most reliable. A force on the interior, a sturdy rim protector and an elite rebounder, Ilgauskas had a 15-year career in the league and was a real force to contend with for the better part of his stint.
Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, Ilgauskas was slotted straight into their starting lineup as a 21-year-old rookie from Lithuanian league club Atletas Kaunas. Injuries deprived him of playing in his best physical shape, but he still made the All-Star team twice (2003, 2005).
Ilgauskas moved to the Miami Heat with James in the summer of 2010 as a locker room guy and announced his retirement at the end of the season. His jersey has been retired by the Cavaliers ever since, making him only the third European to be so honored after Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac.
With the 8th overall pick, the New Jersey Nets select Stephon Marbury
'Starbury' was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft and traded on draft night to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Marbury made 2 All-Star teams through the course of his career (2001, 2003) and was also named to the All-NBA Third Team twice (2000, 2003).
He spent 3 seasons each with the Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns, 2 with the New Jersey Nets and signed a 5-year contract with the New York Knicks in 2004. Following the end of that contract, he left the league to play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), which he dominated for several years before retirement.
Although the lingering image of Marbury's NBA career will always be his failure to take the Knicks to the playoffs, at his best, he was easily one of the top 10 players of his draft class. His NBA career averages of 19.3 points, 7.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game speak volumes about the same.
With the 7th overall pick, the Los Angeles Clippers select Peja Stojakovic
Universally recognized as the greatest European guard to ever play in the NBA, Peja Stojakovic was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 14th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, before being sent back to play with Greek outfit PAOK for 2 more seasons. He rode the bench for his first 2 seasons in the league, before being moved to the starting lineup in the 2000-01 season and having a breakthrough season.
Stojakovic was a crucial member of the Kings team that finished first in the Western Conference in the 2001-02 season with a 61-21 record. They got knocked out by the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, which were looked upon as the real Finals as both teams were far superior to the Nets, who made it to the Finals that year.
Stojakovic's best statistical season was 2003-04, when he averaged 24.2 points per game on 43.3% shooting from 3-point land and finished 4th in the MVP voting. Peja was traded to the Pacers midway through the 2005-06 season to the Indiana Pacers before he signed with the New Orleans Hornets. Stojakovic's final season as an NBA player ended with a championship on the Dallas Mavericks in June 2011.
Peja has 3 All-Star game selections and an All-NBA second-team selection to his name. His jersey #8 was retired by the Kings in December 2014.
With the 6th overall pick, the Boston Celtics select Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine O'Neal was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 16th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. He rode the bench for the Blazers in 4 years when they were contending for a championship, as he was behind several veterans on the rotation. He emerged as a starting-caliber player with the Indian Pacers in the 2000-01 season, before elevating his play the following season and winning the Most Improved Player award for the 2001-02 season.
O'Neal made it to 6 straight All Star games while playing for the Pacers (2002-2007). He finished 3rd in the MVP voting for the 2003-04 season with season averages of 20.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.6 blocks. O'Neal was voted to 3 All-NBA teams from 2002-2004.
He remained a valuable contributor to his teams right till the end of his career in 2014. O'Neal has a 31.8% probability of making it to the Hall of Fame according to Basketball Reference.
With the 5th overall pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves select Ben Wallace
It is easy to claim 20/20 hindsight, but I still have to put it out there - the fact that 29 NBA teams passed on the opportunity to draft a player who went on to win the Defensive Player of the Year award 4 times is insane. Yes, Wallace never had a single season in his career averaging double digits in scoring, which is part of the reason why he's not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but I'm quite sure that real basketball people will agree with my placement of Big Ben at #5 on our redraft here.
He was picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Washington Bullets in 1996. He did not find much on-court success with them, or the Orlando Magic, who traded him away to the Detroit Pistons to obtain George Hill in a sign-and-trade deal. It was in his stint with the Pistons that Wallace truly began to emerge as a stellar defender. He made the All-Defensive First Team and the All-NBA Third Team in his second season, averaging a league-leading 3.5 blocks per game as well as 1.7 steals.
In a 5-year spell from 2001 to 2006, Big Ben made 5 straight All-Defensive First Teams, won 4 Defensive Player of the Year awards and made an All-NBA Second Team or Third Team as the Pistons went to 5 straight Conference Finals and 2 NBA Finals. His career regressed as he got traded to the Chicago Bulls before moving to the Cavaliers, and Wallace returned to Detroit in 2009.
He retired in 2012 after 3 years riding the bench and missing the playoffs, but every conversation about the greatest defensive players in NBA history will now have his name thrown around for sure.
With the 4th overall pick, the Milwaukee Bucks select Ray Allen
New fans of the NBA may only remember Ray Allen as a 3-and-D player, but in his prime, the shooting guard was one of the best 2-way guards in the league while shouldering a load comparable to that of Kobe in those down years of the Lakers. Allen was drafted after 3 years in the University of Connecticut by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Stephon Marbury.
Allen quickly emerged as one of the best guards in the league, and he made his first All-Star team in 2000. He took his streak of All-Star game appearances to 3 until 2002, before getting traded to the Seattle Supersonics in exchange for Gary Payton. Allen played out the best years of his career at Seattle, averaging 24.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Tired of not being on a contending team, Allen earned a trade to play alongside Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett with the Boston Celtics in 2007. He gave up much of his role in exchange for playing on a title-winning team and was arguably deserving of the Finals MVP award over Pierce when they won in 2008.
Allen finished out his career with 2 Finals appearances on the Miami Heat. He will forever be remembered making the greatest clutch shot in NBA history in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals, as the Heat tied the game up with his 3-pointer late in the 4th quarter of that game before winning it in overtime.
Shuttleworth finished his career with 10 All-Star game appearances, 2 All-NBA team selections and the records for most 3-pointers made all-time in both the regular season and the playoffs. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year alongside another player from his draft class who we'll shortly talk about.
With the 3rd overall pick, the Vancouver Grizzlies select Steve Nash
Steve Nash is one of those players who revolutionized the league. It was his availability that allowed Mike D'Antoni to run the Seven Seconds or Less offense during his prime years with the Suns. Nash was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 15th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. He rode the bench during his initial years in the league before getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks in his 3rd season.
He made his first All-Star team in 2002 with the Mavs, but the duo of Nash and Nowitzki was split up when the Suns offered him more money during free agency in the summer of 2004. Nash joined young teammates Shawn Marion, Amar'e Stoudemire and Joe Johnson with coach D'Antoni to run the fast-paced, run-and-gun SSOL offense with great results as they finished the season with the best record in the league. Nash averaged over 10 assists per game for the first time in his life, and combined with his efficient shooting, this enabled him to win the 2004-05 MVP award.
Phoenix played in the same vein during the 2005-06 season despite losing Joe Johnson in free agency and Stoudemire to injury, once again making the Conference Finals before losing to the Dallas Mavericks. Nash averaged 10 assists per game for 6 out of 7 seasons from 2004 to 2011. He earned a final move to Los Angeles to play alongside Kobe, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, but injuries scuppered his final professional season before retirement.
Nash would be a perfect player in the modern NBA which emphasizes 3-point shooting. He has five 50-40-90 seasons (most in NBA history), in addition to several campaigns when he fell short in one category. Nash's #13 jersey has been raised to the rafters by the Phoenix Suns, and he will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year.
With the 2nd overall pick, the Toronto Raptors select Allen Iverson
The Answer is one of the most iconic players to ever play the game. Regarded by many as pound-for-pound the greatest basketball player ever, Iverson left a lasting legacy on the sport in 14 years playing in the NBA.
After a stellar college career for Georgetown, Iverson was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first pick of the 1996 NBA draft. He was an instant success, finishing his rookie season with per-game averages of 23.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.1 steals and winning the Rookie of the Year award. He won the MVP award for the 2000-01 season, willing the 76ers to the first seed in the Eastern Conference standings and taking a game off the Kobe-Shaq Lakers in the Finals.
Iverson never returned to the biggest stage in the sport after that, but he was voted as an All-Star for 11 straight years from 2000 to 2010. His crossovers, his cornrows hairstyle and his fashion sense paved the way for various players to receive multi-million-dollar endorsement deals after him. Iverson played the final season of his professional career with Turkish club Besiktas before retiring in 2011.
He was voted in as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2016 along with Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal, and his #3 jersey was raised to the rafters by the Sixers in 2014.
With the 1st overall pick, the Philadelphia 76ers select Kobe Bryant
The Black Mamba is the second greatest shooting guard of all time, bar no one. With 18 All-Star game selections, 15 All-NBA team selections, 12 All-Defensive Team selections, an MVP trophy and 2 Finals MVP trophies in addition to 5 NBA titles, the Mamba is one of the most decorated players in league history.
He is the third-youngest player to ever play the game. declaring for the draft straight out of Lower Merion High School where he averaged an insane 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals and 3.8 blocks: these numbers have never been matched by a high school player since. He impressed Jerry West in his workout with the Lakers so much that they agreed to trade Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for his draft rights, picking him up with the 13th pick.
Kobe made the All-Star game every season from his second one in the league. If not for an Achilles tear that basically sapped him of his explosiveness late in his 17th season in the league, he could legitimately have been an All-world player for a couple of years more, seeing that he was nicknamed 'Vino' for aging like fine wine that very season.
The 'Mamba Mentality' is something embraced by tons of talented young players in the league today. Kobe, above everything else, embodied a psychopathic competitive edge and toughness that few players in any sport have ever been able to match.
