HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Chris Tomasson

Cue up the grainy highlights. It’s a good time for draft anniversaries.

It’s the 50-year anniversary of when Wilt Chamberlain was drafted, and the 40th anniversary of when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was plucked from the college ranks. It’s the 25th anniversary of Michael Jordan heading to the stage, although he did keep in his tongue.

It must be said that, while any draft with Chamberlain can’t be overlooked, there wasn’t much depth after he was a territorial pick. The only other Hall of Famer to go in 1959 was Bailey Howell, No. 2 in the regular phase.

Abdul-Jabbar’s 1969 draft had even less depth, producing no other Hall of Famers. After the big fellow went No. 1, the next best player taken was seven-time All-Star Jo Jo White.

As for 1984, that’s quite another story. While Jordan was the No. 3 pick, three other Hall of Famers are draft classmates, top pick Hakeem Olajuwon, No. 5 Charles Barkley and No. 16 John Stockton.

“I think our class is pretty impressive,’’ Barkley said. “I think ours would go up against many (classes).’’

The 1984 class no doubt ranks among the greatest in NBA history. But is it the best ever?

Barkley didn’t want to go that far. But Barkley was asked how the class stacks up against the star-studded 1996 group, which is looking even better after Lakers guard Kobe Bryant just was handed the NBA Finals MVP.

“I like our chances,’’ Barkley said.

Barkley also was asked how the 1984 class fares against the 2003 group, headed by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

“I like our chances,’’ Barkley said.

At least one member of the 2003 class might disagree. That would be Carmelo Anthony, who helped put himself closer to the category of James and Wade by leading Denver to the Western Conference final.

“We laugh and joke about it, that we’re the best class or one of the best classes,’’ Anthony said.

It seems the only solution is an all-time draft playoff. Take the top eight draft classes in NBA history, and match them against each other, with the winner crowned.

One concern, though, is how to best measure a draft class. How should superstar players be weighed alongside overall depth of the draft? And what about players selected in the late 1960s and early 1970s who played initially in the ABA?

Here are some ground rules. There are five players on the court at once, so the top five players from each draft class will provide the primary weight.

As for ABA players, Dan Issel dropped to the eighth round in the 1970 NBA draft because he already had committed to the ABA. Issel counts since he was coming directly from college.

On the other hand, Julius Erving was drafted No. 12 in 1972 after he had played one ABA season (Erving wasn’t eligible in 1971 due to being an underclassman). Sorry, Erving doesn’t count because he already had been an American professional.

One other rule. Players drafted more than once (such as Elgin Baylor in 1956 and 1958 and Sam Jones in 1956 and 1957 only count toward the last draft in which they were selected).

Here are the eight draft classes battling it out, with the top five players listed in the order selected:

1950

The class is headlined by four Hall of Famers and a guy who played in eight All-Star Games that nobody remembers. Only three other draft classes (1965, 1970 and 1984) can claim four or more Hall of Fame players.

Paul Arizin, Hall of Famer (territorial pick).

Bob Cousy, Hall of Famer.

Larry Foust, eight All-Star Games.

George Yardley, Hall of Famer.

Bill Sharman, Hall of Famer.

1962

The class has three Hall of Famers to its credit. And old-timers are working to get Chet Walker a ticket himself one day to Springfield, Mass.

Dave DeBusschere, Hall of Famer (territorial pick).

Jerry Lucas, Hall of Famer (territorial pick).

Zelmo Beaty, two-time NBA and three-time ABA All-Star.

John Havlicek, Hall of Famer.

Walker, seven-time All-Star.

1965

Four Hall of Famers head this class, although Bill Bradley barely counts since he’s enshrined primarily because of his college exploits. There’s also good depth, with Bob Love beating out Tom Van Arsdale, Dick Van Arsdale and Jerry Sloan for the fifth spot.

Bradley, Hall of Famer (territorial pick).

Gail Goodrich, Hall of Famer (territorial pick).

Rick Barry, Hall of Famer.

Billy Cunningham, Hall of Famer.

Love, three-time All-Star.

1970

This class holds the mark for most Hall of Famers with six. The forgotten one is Issel, plucked in the eighth round by Detroit. Other draftees were impressive, including Rudy Tomjanovich, Charlie Scott and Geoff Petrie, co-Rookie of the Year with Dave Cowens. Since we’re not leaving any Hall of Famers on the bench, six are listed here.

Bob Lanier, Hall of Famer.

Pete Maravich, Hall of Famer.

Cowens, Hall of Famer.

Calvin Murphy, Hall of Famer.

Tiny Archibald, Hall of Famer.

Issel, Hall of Famer.

1984

This group includes the greatest player ever in Jordan and two of the greatest ever at their positions in center Olajuwon and point guard Stockton. There’s not a clear-cut fifth guy to stand around in awe and watch the others, but Kevin Willis gets the nod over Otis Thorpe on seniority since he played 21 NBA seasons to a mere 17  for Thorpe.

Olajuwon, Hall of Famer.

Jordan, Hall of Famer.

Barkley, Hall of Famer.

Willis, one-time All-Star.

Stockton, Hall of Famer.

1985

While overshadowed by 1984, this class still produced a pretty nice encore. It includes three Hall of Famers and Chris Mullin, who eventually could be enshrined.

Patrick Ewing, Hall of Famer.

Mullin, five-time All-Star.

Detlef Schrempf, three-time All-Star.

Karl Malone, Hall of Famer.

Joe Dumars, Hall of Famer.

1996

Four from this class are certain to get into the Hall of Fame. For the fifth spot, there was ample competition in this very deep draft, with Jermaine O’Neal getting the nod over five other players to have made All-Star Games (Peja Stojakovic, Stephon Marbury, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker and Zydrunas Ilgauskas).

Allen Iverson, 10-time All-Star, one MVP.

Ray Allen, nine-time All-Star.

Kobe Bryant, 11-time All-Star one MVP.

Steve Nash, six-time All-Star, two MVPs.

O’Neal, six-time All-Star.

2003

This group is just getting started. James has been named MVP and won a scoring title. Wade has a championship and a scoring crown. Anthony and Chris Bosh are full-fledged stars. For the fifth spot, David West nudged out Josh Howard since West pays more attention during the national anthem.

James, five-time All-Star, one MVP.

Anthony, two-time All-Star.

Bosh, four-time All-Star.

Wade, five-time All-Star.

West, two-time All-Star.

Here’s a look at the all-time draft showdown:

QUARTERFINALS

1950 vs. 1996

Cousy vs. Nash. Is that not a point-guard matchup for the ages? But even though Yardley was the first NBA player ever to score 2,000 points in a season, the guys from the Studebaker generation don’t have enough offense. Winner: 1996.

1962 vs. 2003

There’s great team play from consummate pros DeBusschere, Lucas and Havlicek, players who were on nine of the 12 title teams between 1962 and 1973. But James’ gang has too much talent. Winner: 2003.

1965 vs. 1984

Barry and Jordan get into a shootout. But, in the end, the championship experience of Jordan and Olajuwon (eight titles between them) are too much. Winner: 1984.

1970 vs. 1985

With the 5-foot-9 Murphy and the 6-1 Archibald, the little guys aren’t to be denied. Malone is tough, but this time the “Mailman” doesn’t deliver. Winner: 1970.

SEMIFINALS

1970 vs. 1996

Iverson shows up late. Nevertheless, there’s just too much firepower from Iverson, owner of four scoring titles, and Bryant, who has two. Winner: 1996.

1984 vs. 2003

It’s Jordan vs. James. James will want to replay this battle of elite classes in a decade, but, for now, the class of 1984 is as dominant as Big Brother is in George Orwell’s novel. Winner: 1984.

FINALS

1984 vs. 1996

In the end, how can one pick against any team with Jordan on it? Well, any team besides the Washington Wizards of 2001-02 and 2002-03. The 1996 class has more depth, but it’s hard to top the star power of Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley and Stockton, who combined for seven MVPs, 23 All-NBA first team selections, 45 All-Star Game selections and seven Olympic gold medals.  Winner: 1984.

Speaking of Olympic golds, did we mention 1984 draftees combined to win 14 additional gold medals? That would be one each from Sam Perkins, Alvin Robertson, Vern Fleming, Leon Wood and Jeff Turner from the 1984 basketball games and nine from track legend Carl Lewis.

Yes, Lewis was drafted in the 10th round in 1984. But let’s not go overboard. Bruce Jenner was selected in the seventh round in 1977, but that doesn’t help that draft class.

Out West, Denver Nuggets fans can thank Southern rock.

Or, more specifically, a bunch of long-haired guys from Jacksonville, Fla.

It was January 2006, and then Hornets center Chris Andersen had just had been suspended from the NBA for drug use, unable to apply for reinstatement for two years. Two days after the verdict, not much had changed for Andersen.

Andersen was in his living room doing the same stuff he had to warrant his suspension. Then, blaring out of the loudspeakers, came the song “Gimme Back My Bullets,’’ by Lynyrd Skynrd.

“Been up and down since I turned 17,’’ sounded one verse from the 1976 song. “Well, I’ve been on top, and it seems I lost my dream.’’

That lyric caught Andersen’s attention. Then 28 and having seen voided the five-year, $14 million contract he had signed the previous summer, Andersen’s dream indeed looked gone.

“It hit home,’’ Andersen said. “It was like I was (ticked) off at myself and everything that led up to the suspension. But then I realized I was digging the hole even deeper. Basically, the switch turned on. That was two days after the suspension.’’

It was the day Andersen said he made the decision to get clean and get back to the NBA, which happened when he was reinstated in March 2008.

Nuggets fans are grateful. The “Birdman,’’ whose body is a billboard of tattoos and whose wild hairstyles sometimes look straight out of an exotic bird park, has soared higher this season than anybody could have envisioned.

Signed off the scrap heap by the Nuggets last summer, Andersen during the regular season averaged 6.4 points and 6.2 rebounds and was second in the NBA in blocked shots with a 2.46 average despite logging a modest 20.5 minutes a night. During the first-round of the playoffs, Andersen showed his old teammates what they were missing when he averaged 7.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.80 blocks as the Nuggets walloped New Orleans in five games.

So what are the words that follow the Lynyrd Skynrd verse that caught Andersen’s attention?

“But I got it back. I’m feeling better everyday. Tell all those pencil pushers, better get out of my way.’’

Indeed, the “Birdman’’ is back.

“He’s a basketball gift from the gods,’’ said Nuggets coach George Karl, who seems to only be half joking when he suggests an “offering’’ of thanks to those gods is in order.

Andersen, who after being reinstated last season was confined to a deep-bench role by the Hornets and scored just six points in five games, is being touted by many as the leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.

There’s just one problem. The NBA doesn’t have such an award.

It once did. Interestingly, it was done away with before the 1986-87 season and replaced with the Most Improved Player Award because too many players coming back from drug problems were being handed trophies. Of the six who won the award during its 1981-86 run, Bernard King (1981), Micheal Ray Richardson (1985) and Marques Johnson (1986) had battled substance abuse.

However, if a special Comeback Player of the Year were handed out this season, it seems Andersen would do very well in the voting.

“For Birdman to be kicked out of the league for a couple of seasons and get himself back together and get his life back together and be a big-time contributor on a team like (the Nuggets), that says a lot about his character,’’ Hornets coach Byron Scott said after Andersen and mates made the Hornets look as extinct as dodo birds. “I was very proud that he got himself back into the league. He is truly one of my favorite people. He has an infectious personality. I thought he played extremely well in all five games (of the series).’’

Scott had to be wondering if he really was watching the same player who couldn’t get on the court for New Orleans a year earlier. Then again, it’s not as if such an opinion would be in the minority.

The Nuggets worked Andersen out last July while desperately seeking a big man after Marcus Camby had been sent to the Los Angeles Clippers in a salary dump. Karl admits Andersen didn’t initially blow the Nuggets away, but he did enough to get a one-year minimum contract worth $998,398.

“Nobody believed he was going to come back and do what he’s done,’’ said forward Carmelo Anthony, whose Nuggets are coming off their first playoff series win since 1994 and face Dallas in a West semifinal beginning Sunday.

That is, nobody but Andersen.

“I knew I was going to play like this,’’ he said.

That’s because Andersen, after having more rust than the Titanic, tirelessly has worked to be even better than the high-flying fan favorite he was during his initial Nuggets stint of 2001-04.

Andersen has had plenty of inspiration. He only needs to look back at that night 3 ½ years ago when Lynyrd Skynrd helped him realize he was throwing it all away.

“I broke the rules,’’ said Andersen, who won’t name the drug he used and spent one month in a California rehabilitation clinic after being suspended. “But I took it like a man. I did was I supposed to do… I showed the NBA (he had changed), and they accepted me back.’’

And the Nuggets, who unexpectedly overcame their frontcourt concerns after the dumping of Camby, are thankful.

Andersen’s statistics aren’t a full gauge of his value. He alters even more shots than he  blocks, and the energy he brings off the bench regularly ignites the team and the fans.

“He’s been so awesome,’’ said Denver guard Chauncey Billups. “I’m so happy for him. He has to be the player in the league that gets the Comeback Player of the Year… He’s been phenomenal all reason is his role.’’

Anthony has joked Andersen might be replacing him as the team’s most popular player. After all, signs and shirts touting the “Birdman’’ are all over the place at Nuggets games.

Andersen’s hair adds to the image. It’s greased up, and protruding out of his headband.

It’s as simple as it sounds. Andersen said he buys a product called Spiker from a Denver beauty supply store, and it takes five minutes to apply before a game.

“It’s a glue,’’ Andersen said.

Make sure of one thing, though. Andersen has matured since he got into a hairy situation with then Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik during the 2004 playoffs.

Andersen showed up for a game against Minnesota with his hair formed into giant spikes shooting skyward. Bzdelik immediately sent him back to the locker room.

“He said I wouldn’t play if I wore my hair like that,’’ Andersen said. “He barely played me anyway. I don’t think Karl really cares. But I’m not going to roll out that one (in this postseason).’’

After all, Andersen still might have a wild side. But he’s a lot different than the “Birdman’’ whose NBA career once flew south.

“Ain’t fooling around, cause I done had my fun,’’ goes the Lynyrd Skynrd song as it winds down. “Ain’t gonna see no more damage done. Gimme back, gimme back my bullets.’’

To use another Lynyrd Skynrd song, Andersen has become a “Free Bird.’’

Wherever the Nuggets play on the road in the postseason, Carmelo Anthony can count on not hearing one thing.

“DUI. DUI. DUI.’’

That was the chant at the Staples Center during a first-round playoff series last spring. The Nuggets star forward had been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving April 14, 2008, and Lakers fans were not kind to him during a four-game sweep that got underway six days later.

But what a difference a year has made for Anthony and his Nuggets. Last year, they entered the playoffs a distracted team, thanks to the Anthony arrest that came shortly before the final regular-season game. Now, though, it’s a carefree bunch of Nuggets that will show up for the postseason.

Denver (54-27) clinched the Northwest Division with a 118-98 win Monday over Sacramento. The win assured that a team that has lost five straight years in the first round of the playoffs will open the postseason at home for the first time since 1988.

Anthony, who has been a part of all those first-round defeats, said he’s “starving’’ to finally break through. He certainly will begin the playoffs in a much better frame of mind than last year, when he was involved in an incident that led him to be suspended for the first two games of this season.

“I look back on it now, I don’t want to say it’s funny, but it’s behind me now,’’ said Anthony, who eventually plea-bargained to a lesser charge of driving while ability impaired. “It’s old and it seems so long ago that I happened, although it was a year. And so it goes to show how much I came around from that.’’

Indeed Anthony has.

It’s true his career has been marred by a lot of other negative headlines (a 2004 New York nightclub altercation, a 2004 cameo in the controversial Stop Snitchin’ DVD, a 2004 charge for having marijuana in a backpack that was dropped when the marijuana was determined to have belonged to a friend and a 2006 15-game suspension for throwing a punch in a brawl at New York). But many believe that, in is sixth season, Anthony is finally starting to get it.

Yes, this season featured a March 2 one-game team suspension for Anthony failing to come of a game when Nuggets coach George Karl sought a substitute. But both agree that wasn’t a major issue, and it was nothing compared to the distraction Anthony caused his team on the eve of last season’s playoffs.

“That probably falls into a big mistake,’’ Karl said. “It could have been worse. Hopefully, now, at a very young age, he understands you should never do that.’’

But Karl has seen Anthony continue to mature since then, both on and off the court. He’s talked about Anthony, 24, having grown into a leader after before being just a talented player.

“He’s had a consistent growth spurt,’’ said Karl, “I think every month it’s kind of like, his eyes are open, his mind is open.’’

Over the past year, Anthony has learned even more about the responsibility of being a public figure. He’s been lauded for the dignity he displayed in representing Team USA during last summer’s Olympics, when the “Redeem Team’’ mined gold in Beijing.

It was far different than what had transpired four years earlier in Athens, when the “Green Team,’’ a collection of players too young for the international stage, settled for bronze. Anthony squabbled with coach Larry Brown and barely played.

While in China, Anthony was an ambassador, engaging the Chinese with his personality and showing up at a variety of events. He spent some time with swimming stud Michael Phelps, who also is from Baltimore.

Six months after the Olympics, Phelps got to stand in Anthony’s shoes when it came to a superstar athlete having a negative brush with the law. Then again, after a photo surfaced of Phelps taking a marijuana hit from a bong, maybe it wasn’t that similar.

“In his situation, it’s kind of different than mine,’’ Anthony said. “We grew up (in Baltimore) in two different walks of life. He was the guy who was clean cut. Nobody ever expected anything from him. And finally then, when it hit, that’s why everybody has come down so hard on him. Like what did Michael Phelps do? I can’t believe he did this. I felt bad for him. But he owned up to his mistake.’’

It must be said Phelps also was arrested on a DUI charge in 2004, shortly after the Athens Olympics. He eventually got 18 months probation for pleading guilty.

Phelps’ sentence required him to give speeches to schools. That’s what Anthony soon must do as part of his penalty.

“I’m going to speak at a couple of assemblies,’’ Anthony said of telling students about the perils of drinking and driving. “Whatever I can do to help them out.’’

The way the Nuggets are playing lately, though, chances are Anthony might end up fielding a lot more questions about that.