Portland Trail Blazers

The 2023 NBA Draft could go down as a special class, with talented prospects such as Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins as well as some interesting depth pieces.
But will it ever be considered one of the best draft classes in NBA history? That remains to be seen.
Today, we're going to identify the cr&egrave;me de la cr&egrave;me of NBA draft classes.
The 2003 NBA Draft
The 2003 NBA Draft featured multiple generational talents that would come to define the NBA for the next two decades. Led by LeBron James, this class also included household names such as Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Not only did this draft have star power, it was also very deep. Twenty-seven players from the 2003 class played at least 10 seasons in the NBA: James, Wade, Anthony, Bosh, Kyle Korver, David West, Zaza Pachulia, Nick Collison, Boris Diaw, Kendrick Perkins, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, Dahntay Jones, Steve Blake, Mo Williams, Luke Ridnour, Willie Green, Matt Bonner, Travis Outlaw, Keith Bogans, Darko Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Sasha Pavlovic, Josh Howard and Luke Walton. This class featured nine All-Stars and plenty of quality role players.
The 1984 NBA Draft
The 1984 NBA Draft stands as a legendary class, and some might argue that it's the greatest draft of all-time. Two of the top three picks &mdash; Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon &mdash; would ultimately etch their names in the annals of basketball history and redefine greatness. In addition to Jordan and Olajuwon, players like Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Alvin Robertson showcased their immense talent as well. This class produced five Hall-of-Famers and seven All-Stars.
The 1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA Draft changed the landscape of the league, heralding the arrival of future Hall-of-Famers and icons. Led by the legendary Kobe Bryant and the enigmatic Allen Iverson, this class boasted an array of talent that reinvigorated the game. This class also featured Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace, Stephon Marbury, Peja Stojakovic, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Marcus Camby, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Derek Fisher. The 1996 NBA Draft was deep, producing 10 All-Stars and five Hall-of-Famers. Jon Finkel recently revisited this star-studded class in his book "1996," and he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/revisiting-the-starstudded-1996-nba-draft-kobe-bryant-ray-allen-steve-nash-allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran a terrific excerpt on Basketball News</a>.
The 1985 NBA Draft
The 1985 NBA Draft was certainly special. This class featured 10 All-Stars including Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Joe Dumars, Detlef Schrempf, Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley, &nbsp;AC Green, Terry Porter and Michael Adams. The class also featured Arvydas Sabonis, an overseas legend and terrific Portland Trail Blazer. Like the 1996 NBA Draft, this class has the star power and depth to be considered one of the best drafts in NBA history.
The 2009 NBA Draft
While not as immediately illustrious as some of the other classes on this list, the 2009 NBA Draft proved to be a treasure trove of talent. This class exemplified the importance of patience and player development, as Stephen Curry, James Harden, Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague would all go on to become All-Stars. Griffin missed his rookie year with an injury, but dominated as soon as he stepped on an NBA court. Curry battled injuries early in his career, but would become a four-time champion and two-time MVP. Harden went from being an elite sixth man to an MVP once he got the opportunity in Houston. This class also featured Brandon Jennings, Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson, Patty Mills, Danny Green, Taj Gibson and Patrick Beverley among others.
Which class is the greatest in NBA history? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts</a>!&nbsp;

Basketball News examines the crème de la crème of draft classes throughout NBA history.

Exploring the 5 best draft classes in NBA history

A list of 12 of the top talents in modern NBA history to have never appeared in an All-Star Game.

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

In the latest BasketballNews.com roundtable, we asked our writers the following question:
Which player from a previous era would be a perfect fit in today&rsquo;s NBA?
Alex Kennedy: Rather than selecting a legend like Larry Bird who would obviously be incredible in today&rsquo;s NBA, I chose a player who was solid in his era but whose career would&rsquo;ve played out very differently if he was drafted today: <a href="https://youtu.be/faK8ElMK2B4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jamal Mashburn</a>. In his prime, Mashburn averaged 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.5 threes and 1.0 steal while shooting 38.9% from three. He was 6-foot-8 and roughly 250 lbs. (the same size as Julius Randle). Here's how a 1993 pre-draft scouting report described him: &ldquo;Mashburn is a jack of all trades. He can play either inside or outside. Inside, he has a variety of moves, a la Kevin McHale, with all sorts of head fakes and turnaround moves. He can be virtually unstoppable in the low post. If that isn't enough, he can take his game outside, where he can easily stroke the three-pointer. He is an excellent ball-handler, and he can score from a set shot, posting up, and off the dribble.&rdquo; In today&rsquo;s NBA, Mashburn would play multiple positions; he would be a terrific stretch-four and small-ball five. But back in the day, he played 84% of his 16,217 NBA minutes at small forward. These days, he&rsquo;d also attempt more than just 3.6 threes per game. A team could run their offense through Mashburn since he could create his own shot and get his teammates involved. Today, he&rsquo;d be highly coveted due to his versatility, athleticism, shooting, touch around the rim and playmaking. He was incredibly talented (and underrated), and it&rsquo;s unfortunate that he wasn&rsquo;t born a few decades later.
Spencer Davies: It's not as if Rashard Lewis had a poor career -- especially judging by his contributions over a decade with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic, where he averaged 18 points and nearly six rebounds per game on 39.4% from long distance -- but it is so easy to picture him in the modern NBA stretching the floor and jacking up 8-to-10 threes and nailing 40-plus percent of them. Later down the line, he was a bigger body with more strength, however, in the mid-2000s, he just had the length that would bother you defensively. Lewis would probably be able to easily average 20-plus points these days. He was quite adaptable despite being a 3/4 tweener, but in June 2021, he would be exactly what these teams are frothing at the mouth for: length, athleticism and most importantly, shooting.
Moke Hamilton: Definitely an interesting question. Vlade Divac and Arvydas Sabonis are two that immediately come to mind for me, with Sabonis being particularly interesting. For those of you who are younger than me, Sabonis &mdash; the father of NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis &mdash; is a great &ldquo;what if?&rdquo; in NBA history. Without taking a long stroll down memory lane, Sabonis was a truly gifted big man whose NBA career never became what it should have been. He was able to make plays from the interior, had magnificent court vision and shot 32% of his career looks from more than 10 feet from the basket. He shot over 100 three-pointers in each of his first three seasons in Portland and connected on about 34% of them. But when Mike Dunleavy took over head-coaching duties prior to Sabonis&rsquo; fourth year, things changed, to say the least. Seriously, go Google Arvydas and check out his personal story. It&rsquo;s incredible&hellip; And he would&rsquo;ve fit right in with today&rsquo;s NBA&hellip; Just like his son.
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Nekias Duncan: I&rsquo;ll go off the cuff: I would&rsquo;ve loved to see how scalable Detlef Schrempf&rsquo;s game would&rsquo;ve been today. A 6-foot-10 forward who could shoot (criminally low three-point volume), and play-make the way he could would&rsquo;ve been incredibly valuable.
Jannelle Moore: Scottie Pippen is the quintessential choice for a player from a previous era who would be great today. Why? Because Scottie would kill on defense -- a versatile wing who could guard all positions. Furthermore, he can facilitate. And Pippen in transition with today&rsquo;s space and tempo would be scary.
Ethan Fuller: I beg younger basketball fans to go watch highlights of Dana Barros in the 1990s. Barros was a simply unreal shooter caught in an era where three-point shooting took a back seat. He shot at least 39% from three in 10 of his 13 full seasons while flying around off screens and off the dribble. At his peak with the 76ers in 1994-95, Barros averaged 20.6 points, 7.5 assists and 1.8 points per game while hitting 50 points in one contest. But Barros only attempted at least 5.0 threes per game in one season. If he played today, he'd be a premier shot-making point guard and absolutely lethal with the emphasis on floor spacing. Think peak Isaiah Thomas with even more shooting upside.

Which player from a previous era would be perfect fit in today's NBA? BasketballNews.com writers shared their thoughts.

Roundtable: Which former player would fit perfectly in today’s NBA?

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; After the work Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal and the rest of the Washington Wizards did to reach the NBA's play-in round, all will be for naught with a loss to the visiting Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
So what if Washington went 17-6 down the stretch to end up eighth in the Eastern Conference standings after being 17-32 in early April? So what if Westbrook averaged a triple-double, broke Oscar Robertson's record for most career games with that statistical achievement and led the league in assists? So what if Beal finished second in scoring at 31.3 ppg?
And so what if the Wizards went 3-0 against the Pacers? If Domantas Sabonis leads Indiana to victory in Thursday's win-or-go-home game, that's who will move on to face the East's No. 1 seed, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers, in the playoffs.
&ldquo;We were a long way from even thinking about this seven weeks ago,&rdquo; Wizards coach Scott Brooks said Wednesday. &ldquo;But the grit and the toughness and determination and stick-togetherness that we&rsquo;ve shown and displayed over the last seven weeks put us in this position to play the Pacers on our home court to advance into the playoffs to face the Sixers.&rdquo;
Thursday's loser is done.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident. I&rsquo;m sure my teammates are, too,&rdquo; Beal said after Washington allowed 50 points to Jayson Tatum in a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ma-state-wire-washington-wizards-boston-celtics-nba-sports-90691f2f36f8d3bb9406550a52a2b64b">118-100 loss at Boston</a> in a play-in opener Tuesday. &ldquo;But we can&rsquo;t talk about it. We&rsquo;ve got to go out there and compete.&rdquo;
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The Pacers, meanwhile, ended up 10th in the East despite having the conference's best road mark (21-15). They extended their season by overwhelming the Charlotte Hornets 144-117.
With Westbrook and Beal making things go, Washington averaged 116.6 points to finish third in the league in scoring, trailing only Milwaukee and Brooklyn.
Like most opponents, Indiana was unable to quiet Washington's offense, giving up an average of 139.7 points in their three meetings.
Asked what the biggest challenge is that the Wizards pose, Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren replied: &ldquo;The speed at which they play."
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very big game for us to play at the tempo we want to play at," said Bjorkgren, in his first season with Indiana, &ldquo;because Russell will get that rebound and they&rsquo;ll push it. So transition (defense) is No. 1.&rdquo;
The Wizards are a 3-point favorite, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>.
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WHO'S HEALTHY AND WHO'S NOT
One key element in this matchup is health &mdash; for both teams.
Westbrook didn't seem himself for much of the Boston loss; he ended up with five assists, less than half of his 11.7 average, shot just 6 for 18, and went to the locker room early. &ldquo;A lot of nicks and bruises, but I'll be all right,&rdquo; he said.
Beal wore four compression sleeves on his strained left hamstring, which kept him out of three of Washington's last four regular-season games, and acknowledged afterward, &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t be as explosive as I want to.&rdquo;
Bjorkgren said Wednesday he would prepare as if the Pacers would be without all four players who sat out against Charlotte: second-leading scorer <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-pacers-charlotte-hornets-new-orleans-pelicans-canada-nba-d91d88f489bd15a29a35b8a589e94e45">Caris LeVert</a> (COVID-19 protocols), NBA blocks leader Myles Turner (right foot), T.J. Warren (left foot) and Jeremy Lamb (left knee).
Guard Malcolm Brogdon, who averages 21.2 points and 5.9 assists, missed Indiana's last 10 regular-season games because of an injured right hamstring but returned Tuesday. He knows the sorts of limitations Beal is dealing with.
&ldquo;There is a bit of hesitation when you're out there. There are things you're not going to do,&rdquo; Brogdon said after his 16-point, eight-assist game against the Hornets. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t going to go for any rebounds in the crowd. I'm not jumping as high as I can. Consciously and unconsciously, you're actually thinking of stuff to avoid.&rdquo;
MISFIRING LASER
Davis Bertans, aka the "Latvian Laser," is a career 40% shooter from 3-point range but went 0 for 7 against Boston.
That was part of a 3-for-21 evening from beyond the arc for Washington.
&ldquo;Every shooter (has) some cold nights,&rdquo; Bertans said. &ldquo;This was one of them.&rdquo;
DOMINANT DOMAS
Indiana's offense runs through 6-foot-11 point forward Sabonis, who delivered 14 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists before taking an early seat in Tuesday's blowout.
&ldquo;This is the best time of the year to be playing,&rdquo; said Sabonis, twice an All-Star in five NBA seasons and the son of former Portland Trail Blazers star Arvydas Sabonis.
The younger Sabonis is the first player since Kevin Garnett in 2002-03 to average more than 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a season.
___
AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen in Boston and Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

On Thursday night, the Wizards will host the Pacers in the Eastern Conference's final play-in game, with the winner taking on the 76ers.

Wizards host Pacers in Thursday's win-or-go-home play-in game

LeBron James is arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time, and his son, LeBron James Jr., has some big shoes to fill.
But should he?
Commonly referred to as &ldquo;Bronny,&rdquo; the younger James seems next in line to join a special fraternity of second-generation NBA players that includes the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Domantas Sabonis and Jerami Grant.
Those players have mostly managed to live up to the expectations that come with being the son of an NBA player, but there are many others who weren&rsquo;t able (or never even attempted) to fill those size-20 shoes.
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Basketball Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton recently joined former No. 1 overall pick and NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin on his podcast (&ldquo;Neat &amp; Unfiltered&rdquo;) to discuss his son, Gary Payton II.
Payton and Martin, aside from being each enjoying fruitful careers in the NBA, are both NBA dads. After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, Gary Payton II <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-raptors-905-gary-payton-ii-on-growing-up-in-fathers-shadow-we-have-two-different-paths" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had to take the long road to the NBA</a> &mdash; he started out in the summer league before taking his talents to the G League. He is currently on his second 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors.
Martin&rsquo;s son, Kenyon Martin Jr. (who goes by KJ), was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the No. 52 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and is currently playing under a two-way contract for the Houston Rockets.
As one might imagine, just as being the son of an NBA player has its challenges, so does being the father of a youngster who attempts to follow in your footsteps.
&ldquo;With you having a son, too, and you going to the games and being very involved in games, you want your son to be just like you,&rdquo; Payton admitted to Martin after acknowledging that Martin&rsquo;s son is also trying to find his way as a pro.
&ldquo;But sometimes, you have to step back and say, &lsquo;He&rsquo;s not me.&rsquo; This is a different generation and things like that, but as you see this and you get to feel this and then say, &lsquo;He got it a little bit, he been hanging around me, man!' it makes you feel real good because you know how these kids make you feel sometimes.&rdquo;
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More so than many others, Martin went public with his feelings for his son realizing his dream of playing in the NBA. Prior to the 2020 NBA Draft, Martin <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-2020-kenyon-martin-letter-son-kj-martin-img-academy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">penned an open letter</a> to KJ. Perhaps by design, Martin&rsquo;s message was simple: it&rsquo;s your time, son, now go do your thing.
To this point, the younger Martin has been able to heed his father&rsquo;s advice, garnering attention for a few standout performances in both the G League and NBA.
Like Payton II, the younger Martin&rsquo;s road to this point wasn&rsquo;t easy.
&ldquo;They get tired of you,&rdquo; Payton admitted when discussing his son, but being the only point guard in NBA history to win Defensive Player of the Year, Payton couldn&rsquo;t deny the fact that he took special pride in seeing his son win the G League Defensive Player of the Year Award on March 19.
&ldquo;You think they don&rsquo;t really be listening to you sometimes because they&rsquo;re in their era, but me seeing my son win this recently and [him] understanding that the defense was there and that&rsquo;s what he watched as a young kid growing up with me, it makes you feel real good,&rdquo; Payton said.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;Yo, he was listening a little bit and he does have a little talent!' And, &lsquo;He does have something to get down with like that,&rsquo; and that&rsquo;s what it is about it. I felt great about my son and I just hope he keeps continuing to get better and better, so he can get on that next level and try to do that same thing for a basketball team.&rdquo;
Payton II spoke with BasketballNews.com in March about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-raptors-905-gary-payton-ii-on-growing-up-in-fathers-shadow-we-have-two-different-paths" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the road he&rsquo;s traveled</a>. And it seems that, long ago, he came to terms with the fact that he&rsquo;d be somewhat the shadow of his father. But his solution was rather simple.
Stop caring. Do you.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re probably going to be compared throughout your life,&rdquo; Payton II <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-raptors-905-gary-payton-ii-on-growing-up-in-fathers-shadow-we-have-two-different-paths" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said to BasketballNews.com&rsquo;s Kelsea O&rsquo;Brien</a>. &ldquo;Growing up, it was a problem for me, I just didn&rsquo;t know how to deal with it, but as I got older and wiser, I matured and I realized that he had his route and I have mine. And don&rsquo;t worry about what people are going to try to compare you to, because we have two different routes in two different eras. So I stopped caring about that some time ago.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s a lot to be said when it comes to second-generation NBA players. Although we tend to look at pro athletes as somehow being superhuman, every so often, we get reminders that they&rsquo;re people, just like us.
Basketball dads like Dell Curry, Mychal Thompson, Arvydas Sabonis and Harvey Grant are among the fortunate dads who have seen their sons reach higher heights than they were able to accomplish.
Without question, Kenyon Martin Sr. and Gary Payton are pulling for their sons to continue to chart their own courses. Legacy is great, but building one's own, obviously, is even better.

Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton opens up about his son's playing career with Kenyon Martin, a fellow "NBA dad" pulling for his own.

Arvydas

Exploring the 5 best draft classes in NBA history

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

Roundtable: Which former player would fit perfectly in today’s NBA?

Wizards host Pacers in Thursday's win-or-go-home play-in game

Legacy: Gary Payton discusses being an 'NBA Dad' with Kenyon Martin