2006 Draft Class: Not as bad as predicted

[WilyWestbrook0]

I was looking through rookie cards from various years, and it occurred to me that 2006 wasn't as horrible as expected.

I remember when the 2006 draft came around, numerous people/experts/analysts were saying it would be as bad (if not worse) than the 2000 class (which had already proven to be a bad one by that point). I think I recall some people even predicting it would be the worst draft class in NBA history.

As time has gone on, history has proven this class wasn't all that bad -- somewhere between average and a little above. It's had very good longevity and depth in particular, if not major superstar power. Here are the main players from it:

Kyle Lowry
Rajon Rondo
LaMarcus Aldridge
J.J. Redick
Paul Millsap
Rudy Gay
P.J. Tucker
Brandon Roy

It's clearly better than the 2000 class. It's probably about comparable to the 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2004 classes, which had a number of "good" players, if no huge names like LeBron, etc.

Anyone else remember all the negativity about this class?

[shockwiresports]

Yes, I remember that there was not much excitement about the first round picks that year. For rookie card collectors, there were plenty of years with mega stars in other years but 2006 was not really that attractive

First two picks ended up playing a number of years in Bargnani and of course Aldridge who is still going. But picks 3 through 5 could not average more than 8.0 points per game in their career:

#3 Adam Morrison drafted by Charlotte
#4 Tyrus Thomas drafted by Portland
#5 Shelden Williams drafted by Atlanta

[WilyWestbrook0]

Yeah, I was going to add that the higher lottery picks had some busts that dropped it down a bit. If a few more of those had been at least decent, it would have made for a genuinely good class instead of more average. A number of later picks turned out to be surprisingly durable and useful players, though.

[pwaldo]

I don't really recall what the talk was of the draft since I stopped following basketball by then but Morrison and JJ were battling each other for college player of the year and they were all over Sportscenter. That alone should have carried some weight with the hype of the draft but it is really weak and seeing that JJ was drafted a lot lower than where I thought he would have been I'm guessing he suffered a injury or something?

[WilyWestbrook0]

I don't really recall what the talk was of the draft since I stopped following basketball by then but Morrison and JJ were battling each other for college player of the year and they were all over Sportscenter. That alone should have carried some weight with the hype of the draft but it is really weak and seeing that JJ was drafted a lot lower than where I thought he would have been I'm guessing he suffered a injury or something?

I remember the talk around Redick was people didn't think his game would translate to the pros. His first few seasons were modest, but as the league increasingly emphasized 3 point shooting, he became a notable player in the league. Morrison, on the other hand, blew out his knee after his rookie season, and never recovered after that.