Every NBA team’s greatest draft pick of all time
By Dre Elder
The images of Dikembe Mutombo lying on the court vise gripping the ball in celebration after the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets upset the top-seeded Seattle Supersonics in the 1994 playoffs are timeless. But Mutombo falls short of greatest draft pick honors. Remember the guy who some argued over LeBron James before the 2003 NBA Draft?
Sure, go ahead and pretend you never said Carmelo Anthony was the best pro prospect leading up to that draft. Anthony averaged 22.2 points and 10 rebounds as a freshman at Syracuse and led the Orange to their first and only national championship. Still, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron first overall which has worked out alright. Denver chose Anthony third overall and was rewarded immediately. On Nov. 7, 2003, the 19-year-old rookie became the second youngest player in NBA history to score 30 points in a game.
The Nuggets finished 43-39 to grab the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs during Anthony’s first season. It was a 26-win improvement over their 2002-03 record. Anthony led the Nuggets in scoring, in addition to all rookies, with 21 points per game. But he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to LeBron James.
Carmelo Anthony proved to be no LeBron. And that’s not an indictment. Anthony has been one of the most potent scorers in the league throughout his 14-year career. He’s currently 25th on the all-time scoring list with 24,156 total points. The biggest knock against Anthony has been his inability to be the best player on a championship team. Regardless, Carmelo Anthony is the greatest draft pick in Nuggets’ franchise history.