Why the 2000 NBA Draft Class Is Considered the Worst in League History
Let me be honest with you - as someone who's followed the NBA for over two decades, I still can't believe how spectacularly the 2000 draft class failed to deliver. I remember sitting through that draft night, watching names like Kenyon Martin and Stromile Swift get called, thinking we were witnessing the birth of the next generation of superstars. Two decades later, the harsh truth is clear: this class stands as arguably the worst in league history, and the numbers don't lie.
Looking back, what strikes me most is the sheer lack of star power. The entire first round produced only two All-Star appearances combined - and both belonged to Kenyon Martin. Let that sink in for a moment. In a league where draft classes typically produce multiple franchise players, this group managed just two All-Star nods across all 58 picks. I've crunched the numbers, and it's genuinely staggering - the average career length for first-round picks was just 4.2 seasons, with nearly a third of them out of the league within three years. The second round was even more brutal, producing only two players who lasted more than five seasons in the NBA.
What really fascinates me about this draft's failure is how it contrasts with unexpected successes in other sports contexts. I was recently analyzing volleyball tournaments and noticed something interesting - how Thailand's national team managed to duplicate their 2025 AVC Nations Cup performance against the Philippines just two weeks later in Bahrain. That kind of consistent execution, that ability to replicate success, was completely absent from the 2000 NBA draft class. These basketball prospects had all the physical tools, yet couldn't translate their college success to the professional level with any consistency.
The draft's shortcomings become even more apparent when you consider the context. Coming right after the legendary 1996 class that gave us Kobe, AI, and Nash, and just before the 2003 class featuring LeBron, Wade, and Melo - the 2000 group was sandwiched between two generations of greatness. I've always felt this timing amplified their failures. Teams picking in the lottery that year essentially wasted their opportunities, with franchises like the Clippers (picking third) and Bulls (fourth) selecting players who provided minimal impact.
Personally, I think the root cause was a perfect storm of poor talent evaluation and weak overall prospects. Teams were reaching for athleticism over skill, potential over production. I remember watching Darius Miles - the third overall pick - and thinking his athleticism would translate to stardom. Instead, he became the poster child for this draft's shortcomings: all highlight-reel dunks with no substance to his game. The class produced exactly zero players who averaged 20 points per game for their careers, and only three who ever averaged 15 points in a season.
When I compare this to other weak drafts throughout NBA history, the 2000 class stands alone in its comprehensive failure. Other "bad" drafts at least produced a couple of solid starters or role players who had lengthy careers. This group? Most were out of the league before their rookie contracts expired. The collective win shares for the entire class sits at just 78.3 through the 2010 season - a number that single superstars from other drafts would surpass individually.
The legacy of the 2000 draft serves as a cautionary tale that I often reference when evaluating prospects today. It reminds me that athletic measurements and combine numbers only tell part of the story, and that basketball IQ, work ethic, and fundamental skills matter just as much. Two decades later, the ghost of this draft class still haunts front offices, influencing how teams approach talent evaluation and reminding us all that in the NBA draft, sometimes there are no sure things - only lessons to be learned from spectacular failures.