The 2000 NBA draft is viewed throughout the NBA community as the worst in history. Provided that the top three picks in order were Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift and Darius Miles—a trio that combined for one lone All-Star appearance—it’s not difficult to come to that conclusion.
The entire 2000 draft class produced only three All-Star appearances. Just three players picked in 2000 made it to an All-Star team. If you look back to the 1952 draft, the only player who made an All-Star team was Clyde Lovellette, and his four All-Star selections still surpass the entire 2000 class.
We may look back at the lackluster 2013 draft (featuring No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett) in the same way, but it’s far too early to tell at this juncture.
So without further ado, we’ll re-pick the stunningly underwhelming 2000 draft class based primarily on career win shares. We acknowledge this isn’t a perfect barometer, so we’ve opted to make slight tweaks to the new order—particularly at the top.
Michael Redd
Michael Redd Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Redd: No. 43
Career win shares: 55.9
Team: New Jersey Nets
Original No. 1 pick: Kenyon Martin
Although Michael Redd doesn’t have the most career win shares of the draft class, his .134 win shares per 48 minutes leads the pack. Were it not for two ACL and MCL tears suffered to his left knee, he could have led the way in both statistical categories.
In any case, the former second-round pick is one of the aforementioned three guys from the class who made an All-Star team. He did so back in 2003-04 when he averaged 21.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while starting all 82 contests.
He averaged over 20 points per game for six straight seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before injuries ended his career early. Even though he never played for a championship team, the left-handed shooter ranks first here because of his remarkable peak. He was also part of the 2008 Olympic team that won gold medals.
Hedo Turkoglu
Hedo Turkoglu Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Turkoglu: No. 16
Career win shares: 63.3
Team: Vancouver Grizzlies
Original No. 2 pick: Stromile Swift
It’s hard to believe, but Hedo Turkoglu actually leads the 2000 draft class in career win shares with 63.3 of them. The majority of those stem from his successful stint with the Orlando Magic, primarily from 2006 through 2009 (when Dwight Howard carried Orlando to the NBA Finals with help from three-point snipers surrounding him).
Hedo hasn’t been able to make much of a contribution in recent years as a result of age and swiftly declining athleticism (he was never an athletic specimen to begin with). However, he’s still carved out a role for the Los Angeles Clippers under head coach Doc Rivers as a sage veteran.
Mike Miller
Mike Miller Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Miller: No. 5
Career win shares: 60.4
Team: Los Angeles Clippers
Original No. 3 pick: Darius Miles
High school product Darius Miles was a hot commodity in NBA circles when he entered the league as the No. 3 overall pick. He graced the covers of SLAM Magazine and Sports Illustrated and was seen by many as the next big thing.
Instead, his career flopped spectacularly and he was out of the league by the time he was 27.
Mike Miller, meanwhile, has had a long a fruitful career as both a No. 2 or 3 option and as a veteran role player. He and Turkoglu are the only players from this class to eclipse 60 win shares—another testament to how atrocious this draft was.
Jamal Crawford
Jamal Crawford Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Crawford: No. 8
Career win shares: 53.9
Team: Chicago Bulls
Original No. 4 pick: Marcus Fizer
To be fair to the Chicago Bulls, there wasn’t a lot of talent to be gained here (re-draft or otherwise). But still, taking Marcus Fizer was a profound whiff. The Iowa State University product played slightly more than five seasons in the pros and amassed just 2.7 win shares in that time.
Crawford, who was originally selected by Cleveland at No. 8, actually wound up with Chicago from the get-go anyway as a result of a draft-day trade that sent Chris Mihm to the Cavaliers. A two-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner, Crawford’s inability to impact the game outside of the scoring category has ensured a mediocre win share total.
Kenyon Martin
Kenyon Martin Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Martin: No. 1
Career win shares: 48.0
Team: Orlando Magic
Original No. 5 pick: Mike Miller
Kenyon Martin, the original No. 1 overall pick, drops down to the Magic at No. 5 in the re-draft. Even though “K-Mart” was able to hang around and play parts of 15 different seasons, he never lived up to the billing of being a top selection.
Even at his peak (his lone All-Star berth in 2004), Martin still only averaged 16.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Those numbers are solid, but it’s not like he was setting the NBA world on fire.
Morris Peterson
Morris Peterson: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Peterson: No. 21
Career win shares: 35.7
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Original No. 6 pick: DerMarr Johnson
Although Morris Peterson (AKA Mo Pete) was never more than a role player, he actually carved out a pretty good niche in the NBA.
A career 37.3 percent shooter from beyond the arc, Peterson used his sweet stroke from the perimeter to stand out with the Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Hornets. He scored a career-high 38 points on March 31, 2006, against the Phoenix Suns when he drained 13-of-19 shots (6-of-10 beyond the arc).
Quentin Richardson
Quentin Richardson Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Richardson: No. 18
Career win shares: 32.8
Team: Chicago Bulls
Original No. 7 pick: Chris Mihm
Playing for the lowly Clippers and the hapless Knicks during his pro career certainly didn’t help Quentin Richardson’s career win share total. However, “Q” was able to put together a magical year with the Phoenix Suns after signing as a free agent in 2004.
When Q-Rich headed to the desert along with eventual MVP Steve Nash, he made 226 three-point attempts (a franchise record that still stands). The Suns dealt Richardson and first-round pick Nate Robinson the following year to New York in exchange for flat-footed big man Kurt Thomas in a short-sighted attempt to morph into the San Antonio Spurs.
Jamaal Magloire
Jamaal Magloire: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Magloire: No. 19
Career win shares: 27.7
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Original No. 8 pick: Jamal Crawford
And with Jamaal Magloire checking in at No. 8 in the re-draft, we’ve now exhausted all three players in the 2000 class who made one All-Star team (Martin and Redd are the others).
The big man out of the University of Kentucky was extremely durable at the beginning of his pro career. After missing just eight games as a rookie, Magloire played all 82 regular season contests for three straight years, culminating with his All-Star season in 2003-04 when he averaged 13.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game for New Orleans.
Eduardo Najera
Eduardo Najera: PER Throughout Career | PointAfter
Original Slot for Najera: No. 38
Career win shares: 24.7
Team: Houston Rockets
Original No. 9 pick: Joel Przybilla
Casual fans might remember Eduardo Najera as the glue guy/role player for Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks in the early 2000s. Though the Mexican forward was a solid rebounder, he rarely (if ever) saw big minutes.
No disrespect to Najera, but he’d have no business landing in the top 10 of any other draft. He was a clear steal in Round 2, however, provided the lack of talent top to bottom.
Joel Przybilla
Joel Przybilla: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Przybilla: No. 9
Career win shares: 23.0
Team: Orlando Magic
Original No. 10 pick: Keyon Dooling
Joel Przybilla earned a bit of a reputation in NBA circles as an enforcer who wasn’t afraid to rub opponents the wrong way. That attitude could be a blessing and a curse, but the true upside was his standing as a steady rebounder and shot blocker.
Przybilla spent the bulk of his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers, where the big man averaged 4.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest.
Desmond Mason
Desmond Mason: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Mason: No. 17
Career win shares: 23.1
Team: Boston Celtics
Original No. 11 pick: Jerome Moiso
If you were looking for a talented dunker to add to your roster in your favorite basketball video game, Desmond Mason wasn’t a bad choice. As far as making an impact in reality, however, Mason was inconsistent at best.
The athletic high-flyer out of Oklahoma State University never developed an outside shot (career 26 percent three-point shooter). He was also a lackluster rebounder for his size (6’7″) and vertical leap (~40 inches). D-Mase was a far better player than actual No. 11 pick Jerome Moiso, though. The 6’10” Frenchman played just 145 games in the NBA and amassed only 2.1 win shares.
Stromile Swift
Stromile Swift’s Lackluster Career Arc | PointAfter
Original Slot for Swift: No. 2
Career win shares: 21.3
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Original No. 12 pick: Etan Thomas
It’s humorous with hindsight to think that Stromile Swift would be selected No. 2 overall. But even when pitting his middling career stats against the others taken in 2000, he only drops 10 spots to the Dallas Mavericks.
Aside from having a great name, “Stro” was also a highlight dunker who loved to throw down poster slams—particularly with his left hand while crossing the lane. He was still a huge bust, though, as he only averaged double-digit points twice in a season.
Eddie House
Eddie House: Shooting Percentages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for House: No. 37
Career win shares: 20.0
Team: Orlando Magic
Original No. 13 pick: Courtney Alexander
While playing in college at Arizona State University, Eddie House once erupted for a 61-point performance in a double-overtime victory against Cal. The 61-point barrier tied a Pac-10 (now Pac-12) record with some guy named Lew Alcindor.
The undersized guard never discovered that hibachi-type heat again in his career, but he did carve a niche as a bench spark plug for the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics. He shot 39 percent from long distance during his NBA tenure.
Courtney Alexander, meanwhile, lasted just three uneventful seasons in the pros.
Keyon Dooling
Keyon Dooling’s Shooting Accuracy by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Dooling: No. 10
Career win shares: 18.5
Team: Detroit Pistons
Original No. 14 pick: Mateen Cleaves
Keyon Dooling would have been a much better pick than Mateen Cleaves had he been available for the Detroit Pistons picking at No. 14 overall. A Michigan State standout, Cleaves played 78 games as a rookie and scored 5.4 points on 40 percent shooting. From then on, he suited up in just 89 contests and was out of the league by 2006.
Like House, Dooling hung his hat beyond the three-point arc. He wasn’t very consistent from deep until later in his career, though, so it’s somewhat surprising he lasted as long as he did in the pros.
Brian Cardinal
Brian Cardinal: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Cardinal: No. 44
Career win shares: 15.4
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Original No. 15 pick: Jason Collier
Brian Cardinal, otherwise known as “The Custodian” for his propensity to do the dirty work out on the court, is actually the second-best player from this draft class by win shares per 48 minutes (.114, tied with Turkoglu). But because the former Purdue Boilermaker only got to play in 456 games throughout 12 seasons (38 games per year), he tumbled down the standings.
That shouldn’t hinder how fans remember the gritty big man, though. He was a team guy who always did what the coaching staff asked of him. And hey, he even knocked down three-pointers at a 37.2-percent clip.
Etan Thomas
Etan Thomas: PER Throughout Career | PointAfter
Original Slot for Thomas: No. 12
Career win shares: 14.9
Team: Sacramento Kings
Original No. 16 pick: Hedo Turkoglu
The Kings encounter the biggest downgrade in the 2000 re-draft (not that that’s saying much), by going from Turkoglu (the class’s win share leader) to Etan Thomas.
Though Thomas was a steady backup center during his time in the pros, he didn’t do any one thing particularly well. He now spends his time as an activist, philanthropist and motivational speaker.
Speedy Claxton
Speedy Claxton Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Claxton: No. 20
Career win shares: 14.2
Team: Seattle SuperSonics
Original No. 17 pick: Desmond Mason
Another guy from this draft with a great name, Speedy Claxton (born Craig Claxton) scoots up three spots to the now extinct Seattle SuperSonics. Seattle certainly didn’t need a point guard, since it still had Hall of Famer Gary Payton on the roster, but Claxton could have provided “The Glove” additional rest.
Claxton was at his best when he was suiting up for the Golden State Warriors. That was mostly due to the fact that he was getting to start and play a lot of minutes, but it’s still worth noting that he averaged 13.1 points, 6.2 assists and 1.9 steals for the Dubs in 2004-05.
Chris Mihm
Chris Mihm Had a Two-Year Peak with the Lakers | PointAfter
Original Slot for Mihm: No. 7
Career win shares: 13.3
Team: Los Angeles Clippers
Original No. 18 pick: Quentin Richardson
Selecting a lesser player in 2000 wouldn’t have mattered for the previously hopeless Clippers, but swapping Richardson for the mediocrity of Mihm still wouldn’t please LAC fans if the re-draft were real.
Mihm eventually found his way to LA during his NBA career, though it was with the Lakers, not the Clips. During the 2005-06 season (with Lakerland) he actually posted decent numbers—9.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in 75 starts. Unfortunately for his career outlook, that was far from the norm.
DeShawn Stevenson
DeShawn Stevenson Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Stevenson: No. 23
Career win shares: 12.1
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Original No. 19 pick: Jamaal Magloire
DeShawn Stevenson is perhaps best remembered now for his fruitless feud with four-time MVP LeBron James. The tatted up 2-guard peaked in 2006-07 with Washington when he started all 82 games and scored 11.2 points per contest on an effective field goal percentage of 51 percent (40.4 percent from three).
Stevenson tried to quash his beef with LBJ in 2013 by tweeting that he wanted to join up with Miami, but he never got an NBA job with the Heat or elsewhere.
Marko Jaric
Marko Jaric Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Jaric: No. 30
Career win shares: 12.1
Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Original No. 20 pick: Speedy Claxton
In seven seasons spent with the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies, Marko Jaric averaged 7.1 points, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Those numbers aren’t terrible for a backup point guard, but the issue is that Jaric actually started 221 of his first 394 games before flaming out in Memphis.
He’s best remembered for marrying Victoria’s Secret supermodel Adriana Lima, and while the two have since split, the former NBA guard is rumored to be dating 23-year-old Serbian model Dusica Savic. It seems retirement suits him just fine.
Jake Voskuhl
Jake Voskuhl: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Voskuhl: No. 33
Career win shares: 11.6
Team: Toronto Raptors
Original No. 21 pick: Morris Peterson
Former UConn Husky Jake Voskuhl suited up for the Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors throughout a nine-year career.
The journeyman center had issues with foul trouble throughout his NBA tenure—he averaged 6.5 fouls per 36 minutes in his career—but he was a decent contributor in his time with Phoenix. That said, it’s alarming that he’s the 21st-best player from this draft class on a win shares basis.
Primoz Brezec
Primoz Brezec’s Two-Year Peak in Charlotte Stand Out in a Big Way | PointAfter
Original Slot for Brezec: No. 27
Career win shares: 10.8
Team: New York Knicks
Original No. 22 pick: Donnell Harvey
Former No. 27 overall pick Primoz Brezec, a 7’2″ center from Slovenia, played just 62 games in three seasons with the Pacers before Charlotte picked him up in the 2004 NBA Expansion Draft.
From there, he became the Bobcats’ starting center for two-plus seasons and actually posted some respectable stats. When he was traded to Detroit along with teammate Walter Hermann in exchange for Nazr Mohammed, though, his career flamed out alarmingly quick.
Jake Tsakalidis
Jake Tsakalidis: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Tsakalidis: No. 25
Career win shares: 9.9
Team: Utah Jazz
Original No. 23 pick: DeShawn Stevenson
Back in 2000, the Phoenix Suns picked up Greek center Iakovos “Jake” Tsakalidis with the 25th pick. He boasted a massive NBA-ready frame (7’2.5″, 285 pounds), but had bricks for hands and was hopeless when shooting from mid-range.
In the re-draft, the Jazz nab him two spots higher at No. 23. Frankly, even Tsakalidis would have been as effective as Olden Polynice and Greg Ostertag for Utah.
Darius Miles
Darius Miles Overview | PointAfter
Original Slot for Miles: No. 3
Career win shares: 9.5
Team: Chicago Bulls
Original No. 24 pick: Dalibor Bagaric
Notorious bust Darius Miles takes a significant tumble from his original spot at No. 3, but he doesn’t fall completely out of the first round in our re-draft.
He still wouldn’t have made a big impact for Chicago as a late-round pick, but he definitely would have been better than the Bulls’ original pick: 7’1″ center Dalibor Bagaric. He lasted just three seasons in the NBA (95 games played) and compiled -0.9 win shares, so Bagaric was actually a net negative to his team—yikes.
Ime Udoka
Ime Udoka: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Udoka: Undrafted
Career win shares: 8.8
Team: Phoenix Suns
Original No. 25 pick: Jake Tsakalidis
Ime Udoka was born in Portland, went to high school in Portland and attended Portland State University where he averaged 14.5 points per game in his lone season. It makes sense then that Udoka first truly latched on with an NBA team in Portland when he started all 75 games for the Trail Blazers in 2006-07.
From there, the swingman (who went undrafted in 2000) carved a niche with the San Antonio Spurs. He now serves as an assistant coach with the franchise under Gregg Popovich.
Jason Hart
Jason Hart’s One-Year Peak with Charlotte | PointAfter
Original Slot for Hart: No. 49
Career win shares: 8.6
Team: Denver Nuggets
Original No. 26 pick: Mamadou N’Diaye
Point guard Jason Hart collected more than half of his career win shares in his lone year with the Charlotte Bobcats. That season, 2004-05, the Syracuse product averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals en route to 4.8 win shares.
Aside from that, Hart never stood out at the NBA level. He was out of the league by 2010.
Mark Madsen
Mark Madsen: Averages by Season | PointAfter
Original Slot for Madsen: No. 29
Career win shares: 8.2
Team: Indiana Pacers
Original No. 27 pick: Primoz Brezec
If the Los Angeles Lakers had never drafted Mark Madsen at No. 29, the world at large would never have been exposed to Mad Dog’s incredible dance moves.
On that basis, I think we’re all content with the heinous 2000 draft playing out the way it did.
DerMarr Johnson
DerMarr Johnson’s Yearly Averages | PointAfter
Original Slot for Johnson: No. 6
Career win shares: 6.4
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Original No. 28 pick: Erick Barkley
In 52 games (32 starts) in the NBA Development League, DerMarr Johnson averaged 15.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Provided that he was once a top-six pick of an NBA draft, that’s far from impressive.
Johnson never averaged double-digit points in a season, nor more than 3.4 rebounds per game throughout a campaign. He was out of the pros by the time he was 27.
Donnell Harvey
Donnell Harvey Bio and Stats | PointAfter
Original Slot for Harvey: No. 22
Career win shares: 4.7
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Original No. 29 pick: Mark Madsen
As a personal anecdote, a Phoenix Suns employee working under then-general manager Bryan Colangelo back in 2003-04 told my dad and I that the team was preparing the framework of a trade that would net the Suns forward Donyell Marshall.
Though Marshall was getting up there in age, he was still a solid rebounder who could spread the floor with three-point shooting. Overall, this was an exciting rumor.
Instead, Phoenix landed the not-so-similarly named Donnell Harvey. The disappointment I felt sums up the collective disappointment of the 2000 draft.
Note: There were only 29 first-rounders because the Charlotte Bobcats did not exist yet as a franchise.