I feel the class of 79 should be considered with both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird spearheading the rebirth of a league suffering from both low attendance and scandal. Not only were these guys popular, but they produced.

How about 1987?

David Robinson
Scottie Pippen
Kenny Smith
Kevin Johnson
Reggie Miller

They might beat 1984's team, or I'd like to see the game. (1987 also has Horace Grant, Tyrone Bogues, etc.)

For guards?
1967 Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier
1960 Oscar Robertson and Jerry West

For hard workers/winner?
1962 DeBusschere, Jerry Jucal, John Havlicek

For future Coaches?
1967 Pat Riely and Phil Jackson
1956 Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, KC Jones

Didn't Larry Bird and Magic Johnson come out the same year? I think that the year was 1979. Anyway, those two alone took the NBA to new heights

1997 -Tim Duncan. The One player that makes up for the rest of the draft.

People often overlook the class of 1970 - let me name just a few. And remember, the league was smaller and more competitive.

Bob Lanier, Tiny Archibald, Calvin Murphy, Pete Maravich, Jim Mc (I am forgetting his last name but he was an All-American forward out of Columbia who went on to earn a ring with Jabbar and the Lakers) and Charlie Scott. There were others who made an impact in the league but these five guys were the most prominent.

Tiny Archibald and Calvin Murphy changed the game's appreciation for "small guards"; Charlie Scott was a prolific scorer in the ABA and NBA, Bob Lanier was a force for years, and Pete Maravich was impossible to contain or categorize.

1979. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. There are many others but I can't find my old copy of The Sporting News. Those 2 are enough.

There wouldn't be an NBA today as strong and wealthy as it is without the draft class of '79. The only two names from that class needing any mention are Bird and Magic. Would there have been expansion franchises without them? Sure, Jordan is the King. But there would not have a stage for Jordan without Bird and Magic.

1985 -

Patrick Ewing
Wayman Tisdale
Xavier McDaniel
Chris Mullin
Charles Oakley
Karl Malone
Joe Dumars
Terry Catledge
A.C. Green

Considering the fact that out of all of these Drafts the three best players are in order:

1, Michael Jordan
2, Hakeem Oliguan (big man sorry about the spelling :))
3, Charles Barkely

It seems obvious...

84 Baby....

After that I would put:

4, Iverson
5, Bryant
6, Wade

Nash I think is a good but not great player, a role player, heck I don't think he is better than the other 84 guy, Stockton.

Anyways, what I want to know is did all of the people choosing actually witness all of these players play or are some people just going on hearsay. And by watch I mean being alive and watching a season develop, not getting a copy of an aging Sir Charles playing for Phoenix and claiming he isn't as good as Lebron. I have no doubt about what would happen if they played agains one another, Each would get 40 points.

The 1979 Draft with Magic and Bird. It didn't matter who else was in the draft. Magic and Bird made the 1980's, made the NBA profitable, saved Dr. J. from obscurity, made the NBA a "national game" instead of a "tape delay" game. The NBA is still living on their rivalry in the 80's. Those two players resurrected the NBA,made it possible for Jordan to soar, won 8 titles between them and gave the players today the opportunity for their overpaid contracts. No Doubt, no arguement, no reason not to select 1979 draft as the greatest of all time.

I can't believe 96 is second right now. 84 had three great players, no doubt, so did 2003. But three great players does not the greatest draft class make. 96 had at least two all time great players in Iverson and Bryant, a two time MVP in Nash, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, Stojakovic, Jermaine O'Neal, Camby, Abdur-Rahim, heck, even Ilgauskas is an all-star. 96 was the deepest draft ever, and I think that it was also the best ever.

A draft class with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would be quite impressive and merit consideration in the poll, but the two were not drafted in the same year. Magic was drafted No. 1 in 1979 and Bird was drafted No. 6 in 1978.

What about the 1992 class? There was Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner, Jim Jackson, LaPhonso Ellis, and several others who ended up being role players on championship winning teams (i.e. Sam Cassell)

IN 1960 WHEN THERE WAS NO INTERNET, NO ESPN, NO SCOUTING COMBINES ETC. JUST A SHEER EYE FOR TALENT, 8 TEAMS (NOT 32) DRAFTED THREE HALL OF FAMERS:OSCAR ROBERTSON, JERRY WEST AND LENNY WILKINS. IF YOU JUDGE THE BEST DRAFT OF ALL TIME, HALL OF FAME POTENTIAL SHOULD BE A CRITERIA AND NOT JUST HIGH LIGHT REELS. NOT MANY CAN BOAST THAT MANY HALL OF FAMERS WITH SO LITTLE CHOICES.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were not drafted in the same year. Bird was eligible for the draft after his junior season because he had transferred to Indiana State. Boston drafted him in 1978 and retained his rights for one year. Bird played his senior year, of course, but then after the school year was over, he signed with Boston--before the 1979 draft.

The best draft class was the class of 1998 my reasons are
1)Vince Carter
2)Paul Pierce
3)Dirk Nowitzki

The draft class of 2003 has to be the best so far. You do not hear anyone talking about the 1996 draft class with KObe and Allen Iverson. All you hear is Lebron, Carmelo, and D-wade. There are also others like Kirk Hinrich and Chris Bosh and Darko Millicic who is still young and has plenty of time to make his impact as an nba player.

1979&78

can you send me the list of that daft 1978& 1979

I am just gald someone realized that Bird and Magic were not drafted in the same class. 79 is out ofr that reason....You need to look at a drafts depth and 96 definetly has it

how can no one give any props to the 2003 draft...lebron-the going to be better than MJ. Carmelo-averaging 31 per game in his 3rd year. Bosh-the next better hakeem. D-WADE- nothing to say but other than hes gonna go down as one of the best bball players of all time

1984 was the best draft class because the had MJ, J-Stockton,Hakeem the Dream, Barkley,and other good players.MJ won 6titles, 5-time MVP& is the greatest ever. J-Stock is the all-time leader in assists & steals. Hakeem Olajuwon leads the NBA in all-time blocks & wom 2 titles in Houston.

2003 will go down as the best draft class
from 1st pick to 58th pick to undrafted
almost every pick could play in the L

LBJ
Melo
Wade
Bosh
Hinrich
Ford
Howard
Ridnour
Sweetney
Diaw
Barbosa
West
Collison
Kaman
Pavlovic
Cook
Pietrus
Hayes
Banks
Jones
Outlaw
Cabarkapa
and even Darko

have all dropped at least 20 in a game
how many draft classes can compare with that

23/29 first-round picks alone with 20 or more points for their career high
and Delfino, Perkins, and Ebi have dropped 17 or more

how bout Udonis Haslem, Mo Williams, Marquis Daniels, and Matt Carroll
in the 2nd round

this class was the DEEPEST overall
and I think the BEST overall

oh and I forgot Kapono was in that second round too

I THINK ITS THE CLASS OF 96 BECOUSE WE
KNEW WHAT WE WERE GETTING EVEN 84 DIDNT
KNOW MJ WAS GONNA BE THAT GOOD BUT KOBE
A.I. CAMBY ALLEN EVERY TIME ONE OF THESE
PLAYERS MOVE TO NEW TEAMS THEY ALWAYS YELL
IMPACT AYE IM MJ THROUGH AND THROUGH BUT
96 PRODUCED SOME OF THE BEST INDIVIDUAL
SCORERS EVER...

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