1998 NBA re-draft: The way it should have been
The 1998 NBA draft is headlined by two all-time great players, both of whom were taken with the final two picks of the Top 10.
Those players, of course, were Dirk Nowitzki, who went ninth overall to the Dallas Mavericks, and Paul Pierce, who went 10th to the Boston Celtics. Both players wound up winning one championship with their respective clubs, becoming legends in Dallas and Boston thanks to their high peaks as players and impressive longevities,
Outside of Pierce and Nowitzki, the 1998 NBA draft had one other player taken who would go on to become a superstar, Vince Carter (fifth overall pick) and various other borderline stars/solid long-term starters in Mike Bibby, Jason Williams, Rashard Lewis and Antawn Jamison.
Besides being the class that featured Nowitzki and Pierce, however, the 1998 draft is most remembered for its notorious top overall selection, who is now widely considered one of the biggest busts in NBA history: Michael Olowokandi, taken No. 1 by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Olowokandi’s NBA career would last nine seasons, five of which he spent with the Clippers. He would average just 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds over 500 career NBA games.
Below, check out our version of the 1998 NBA re-draft, with players taken in the order we believe they should have been taken with the use of hindsight.
Spoiler alert: We won’t make the same mistake the Clippers made.
No. 1 pick: Dirk Nowitzki
Actual position: No. 9 / Career earnings: $255,371,800 Career stats: 20.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.4 apg and 47.1 FG% in 21 seasons
No. 2 pick: Paul Pierce
Actual position: No. 10 / Career earnings: $200,708,312 Career stats: 19.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.5 apg and 44.5 FG% in 19 seasons
No. 3 pick: Vince Carter
Actual position: No. 5 / Career earnings: $186,916,012 Career stats: 16.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg and 43.5 FG% in 22 seasons
No. 4 pick: Mike Bibby
Actual position: No. 2 / Career earnings: $107,093,621 Career stats: 14.7 ppg, 5.5 apg, 3.1 rpg and 37.9 3P% in 14 seasons
No. 5 pick: Antawn Jamison
Actual position: No. 4 / Career earnings: $142,545,596 Career stats: 18.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.6 apg and 45.1 FG% in 16 seasons
No. 6 pick: Rashard Lewis
Actual position: No. 32 / Career earnings: $155,332,815 Career stats: 14.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 apg and 38.6 3P% in 16 seasons
No. 7 pick: Brad Miller
Actual position: Undrafted / Career earnings: $91,247,500 Career stats: 11.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.8 apg and 48.0 FG% in 14 seasons
No. 8 pick: Al Harrington
Actual position: No. 25 / Career earnings: $97,698,919 Career stats: 13.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.7 apg and 44.4 FG% in 16 seasons
No. 9 pick: Jason Williams
Actual position: No. 7 / Career earnings: $55,663,447 Career stats: 10.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 5.9 apg and 39.8 FG% in 12 seasons
No. 10 pick: Bonzi Wells
Actual position: No. 11 / Career earnings: $39,484,599 Career stats: 12.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg and 46.0 FG% in 10 seasons
No. 11 pick: Nazr Mohammed
Actual position: No. 29 / Career earnings: $39,484,599 Career stats: 5.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.6 bpg and 48.6 FG% in 18 seasons
No. 12 pick: Larry Hughes
Actual position: No. 8 / Career earnings: $84,845,538 Career stats: 14.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 apg and 40.6 FG% in 13 seasons
No. 13 pick: Ricky Davis
Actual position: No. 21 / Career earnings: $42,872,920 Career stats: 13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.3 apg and 44.6 FG% in 12 seasons
No. 14 pick: Cuttino Mobley
Actual position: No. 41 / Career earnings: $67,463,250 Career stats: 16.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.7 apg and 37.8 3P% in 11 seasons
No. 15 pick: Mike James
Actual position: Undrafted / Career earnings: $32,291,974 Career stats: 9.9 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.2 rpg and 37.9 3P% in 12 seasons
No. 16 pick: Earl Boykins
Actual position: Undrafted / Career earnings: $16,544,862 Career stats: 8.9 ppg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 rpg and 41.7 FG% in 13 seasons
No. 17 pick: Raef LaFrentz
Actual position: No. 3 / Career earnings: $84,135,042 Career stats: 10.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.6 bpg and 46.6 FG% in 10 seasons
No. 18 pick: Ruben Patterson
Actual position: No. 31 / Career earnings: $36,858,397 Career stats: 10.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.8 apg and 51.7 FG% in 10 seasons
No. 19 pick: Rafer Alston
Actual position: No. 39 / Career earnings: $28,129,531 Career stats: 10.1 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.8 rpg and 35.4 3P% in 11 seasons
No. 20 pick: Radoslav Nesterovic
Actual position: No. 17 / Career earnings: $51,102,151 Career stats: 6.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.2 bpg and 50.2 FG% in 12 seasons
No. 21 pick: Matt Harpring
Actual position: No. 15 / Career earnings: $48,217,041 Career stats: 11.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.4 apg and 48.1 FG% in 11 seasons
No. 22 pick: Tyronn Lue
Actual position: No. 23 / Career earnings: $21,382,580 Career stats: 8.5 ppg, 3.1 apg, 1.7 rpg and 39.1 3P% in 11 seasons
No. 23 pick: Sarunas Jasikevicius
Actual position: Undrafted / Career earnings: $8,000,000 Career stats: 6.8 ppg, 2.9 apg, 1.6 rpg and 35.5 3P% in two seasons
No. 24 pick: Michael Olowokandi
Actual position: No. 1 / Career earnings: $37,906,690 Career stats: 8.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.4 bpg and 43.5 FG% in nine seasons
No. 25 pick: Greg Buckner
Actual position: No. 53 / Career earnings: $29,653,476 Career stats: 5.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg and 45.0 FG% in 10 seasons
No. 26 pick: Brian Skinner
Actual position: No. 22 / Career earnings: $24,882,526 Career stats: 4.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.9 bpg and 49.4 FG% in 14 seasons
No. 27 pick: Keon Clark
Actual position: No. 13 / Career earnings: $15,186,563 Career stats: 8.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg and 50.0 FG% in six seasons
No. 28 pick: Michael Dickerson
Actual position: No. 14 / Career earnings: $17,113,162 Career stats: 15.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.6 apg and 40.2 3P% in five seasons
No. 29 pick: Pat Garrity
Actual position: No. 19 / Career earnings: $22,788,021 Career stats: 7.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.8 apg and 39.8 3P% in 10 seasons
No. 30 pick: Anthony Carter
Actual position: Undrafted / Career earnings: $17,212,048 Career stats: 4.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.1 rpg and 40.4 FG% in 13 seasons
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