2000 NBA draft
The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts (through 2010) all took place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City (though Madison Square Garden itself is the home of the New York Knicks, they do not play in the theater). As of 2025, it is also the last NBA draft where a college senior was the number-one overall selection, and, along with the 1951 NBA Draft, one of only two (and the most recent) drafts with no Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame players (excluding drafts with players not yet eligible). The 2000 draft class is considered the worst in NBA history. Few of its draftees would enjoy extended careers in the league. Just three of them—top pick Kenyon Martin, first-round selection Jamaal Magloire (19th overall) and second-round pick Michael Redd (43rd overall) -- ever played in an NBA All-Star Game. Each of the three made their lone All-Star appearance in 2004. The three cumulative All-Star appearances marks the lowest cumulative appearances since the 1952 NBA draft. Redd was the lone player from this draft to ever be chosen for an All-NBA Team (his sole appearance was on the third team in 2004). Only three players in this draft class won a major end-of-season award in their careers: Hedo Türkoğlu was named Most Improved Player in 2008, Mike Miller won the NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA Sixth Man of the Year awards in 2001 and 2006 respectively, and Jamal Crawford was awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times in 2010, 2014 and 2016. Sports Illustrated named this entire draft class (as opposed to individual players) the sixth biggest bust of the modern era – making it the only draft class among the site's top 20 list. Just before the 2009 draft, ESPN.com columnist David Schoenfield graded all of the drafts since the institution of the draft lottery in 1985, and the only draft to which he gave the lowest possible grade of 'F' was the 2000 draft. Using the WARP (wins above replacement player) metric, the 2000 NBA draft class collectively produced at a rate of 17.3 wins worse than a group of "average replacement players", effectively making this draft class the only one in NBA history to leave the league's talent pool worse than it had been before. Eight of the players selected in this draft never played in an NBA game in their professional basketball careers. Both of the players drafted by the San Antonio Spurs (Chris Carrawell and Cory Hightower) are among this group. The final active player remaining from this class was Jamal Crawford, who retired from the NBA following the 2020 season.
| 2000 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | June 28, 2000 |
| Location | Target Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
| Networks | |
| Overview | |
| 58 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Kenyon Martin (New Jersey Nets) |
The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts (through 2010) all took place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City (though Madison Square Garden itself is the home of the New York Knicks, they do not play in the theater). As of 2025, it is also the last NBA draft where a college senior was the number-one overall selection, and, along with the 1951 NBA Draft, one of only two (and the most recent) drafts with no Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame players (excluding drafts with players not yet eligible).
The 2000 draft class is considered the worst in NBA history.[1] Few of its draftees would enjoy extended careers in the league. Just three of them—top pick Kenyon Martin, first-round selection Jamaal Magloire (19th overall) and second-round pick Michael Redd (43rd overall) -- ever played in an NBA All-Star Game. Each of the three made their lone All-Star appearance in 2004. The three cumulative All-Star appearances marks the lowest cumulative appearances since the 1952 NBA draft. Redd was the lone player from this draft to ever be chosen for an All-NBA Team (his sole appearance was on the third team in 2004). Only three players in this draft class won a major end-of-season award in their careers: Hedo Türkoğlu was named Most Improved Player in 2008, Mike Miller won the NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA Sixth Man of the Year awards in 2001 and 2006 respectively, and Jamal Crawford was awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Sports Illustrated named this entire draft class (as opposed to individual players) the sixth biggest bust of the modern era – making it the only draft class among the site's top 20 list.[2] Just before the 2009 draft, ESPN.com columnist David Schoenfield graded all of the drafts since the institution of the draft lottery in 1985, and the only draft to which he gave the lowest possible grade of 'F' was the 2000 draft.[3] Using the WARP (wins above replacement player) metric, the 2000 NBA draft class collectively produced at a rate of 17.3 wins worse than a group of "average replacement players", effectively making this draft class the only one in NBA history to leave the league's talent pool worse than it had been before.[4]
Eight of the players selected in this draft never played in an NBA game in their professional basketball careers. Both of the players drafted by the San Antonio Spurs (Chris Carrawell and Cory Hightower) are among this group.[5]
The final active player remaining from this class was Jamal Crawford, who retired from the NBA following the 2020 season.
Draft selections
[edit]
| G | Guard | PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | F | Forward | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular-season or playoff game |
| ~ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rookie of the Year |
Notable undrafted players
[edit]These players were not selected in the 2000 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Allen | PF |  United States
|
Villanova (Sr.) |
| Chris Andersen | C/PF | United States
|
New Mexico Slam (IBL) |
| Desmond Ferguson | G/F | United States
|
Detroit (Sr.) |
| Richie Frahm | SG | United States
|
Gonzaga (Sr.) |
| Eddie Gill | PG | United States
|
Weber State (Sr.) |
| Paul McPherson | G | United States
|
DePaul (Jr.) |
| Terrance Roberson | SF | United States
|
Fresno State (Sr.) |
| Pepe Sanchez | PG |  Argentina
|
Temple (Sr.) |
| Alex Scales | G | United States
|
Oregon (Sr.) |
| Ime Udoka | SF | United States Nigeria
|
Portland State (Sr.) |
Early entrants
[edit]College underclassmen
[edit]Following last year's slight dip of underclassmen, entering the new millennium, this draft saw a total of 55 underclassmen declare for the NBA draft initially. However, for collegiate players, seven of the nineteen total players that ultimately withdrew their names would be collegiate players (with Joshua Cross from Southern Illinois University, Jason Kapono from UCLA, Brian Merriweather from the University of Texas Pan-American, Jeryl Sasser from Southern Methodist University, Kenny Satterfield from the University of Cincinnati, Karim Shabazz from Providence College, and Joe White from Texas A&M University being the collegiate players that withdrew their names). Overall, including the high schools and international players with the 26 college underclassmen, there were 36 total players that would be considered underclassmen. That being said, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[6]
- Erick Barkley – G, St. John's (sophomore)
- Ernest Brown – C/F, Indian Hills CC (sophomore)
- Schea Cotton – G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Jamal Crawford – G, Michigan (freshman)
- Kaniel Dickens – F, Idaho (junior)
- Keyon Dooling – G, Missouri (sophomore)
- Khalid El-Amin – G, Connecticut (junior)
- Steve Eldridge – C, Henderson State (junior)
- Marcus Fizer – F, Iowa State (junior)
- Donnell Harvey – F, Florida (freshman)
- Cory Hightower – G/F, Indian Hills CC (sophomore)
- Rashaad Hines – G, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi (junior)
- Jimmie Hunter – G, Life (sophomore)
- DerMarr Johnson – F/G, Cincinnati (freshman)
- Mark Karcher – F, Temple (junior)
- Andre Mahorn – F, Utah State (junior)
- Paul McPherson – G, DePaul (junior)
- Chris Mihm – C, Texas (junior)
- Mike Miller – F, Florida (sophomore)
Jérôme Moïso – F, UCLA (sophomore)- Joel Przybilla – C, Minnesota (sophomore)
- Michael Redd – G, Ohio State (junior)
- Quentin Richardson – G, DePaul (sophomore)
- JaRon Rush – F, UCLA (sophomore)
- Stromile Swift – F, LSU (sophomore)
- Derrick Worrell – F, Pittsburgh (junior)
High school players
[edit]This would be the sixth straight year in a row where players coming directly from high school can declare entry into the NBA draft after previously only allowing it one time back in 1975. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[6]
International players
[edit]In addition to the players below, twelve total international players from all over the world had previously declared entry for this year's draft, but ultimately removed their names from the listing for one reason or another. This year saw the likes of Yugoslavian-Italian Sani Bečirovič of the KK Union Olimpija, the Yugoslavian born Goran Ćakić of the KK Beobanka, the Greek born Antonis Fotsis of the Panathinaikos B.C., the Yugoslavian born Vlado Ilievski of the KK Partizan Belgrade, the Qatari born Yaseen Mahmood of the Al-Rayyan SC, the Turkish born Mehmet Okur of the Tofaş Spor Kulübü, the Greek-Russian born Lazaros Papadopoulos of the Iraklis Thessaloniki, the Turkish born Kaya Peker of the Pınar Karşıyaka, the Finnish born Teemu Rannikko of the Piiloset Turku, the Yugoslavian born Mladen Šekularac of the FMP Železnik, the Greek born Kostas Tsartsaris of the Peristeri B.C., and the Turkish born Kerem Tunçeri of the Efes Pilsen all initially declare their entry into the 2000 NBA draft, only to later withdraw from it for one reason or another. The following international players below, however, did successfully apply for early draft entrance.[6]
Aleksey Savrasenko – C, Olympiacos (Greece)
Dalibor Bagarić – C, Benston Zagreb (Croatia)
Primož Brezec – C, Olimpija (Slovenia)
David Mushkudiani – F, Lukoil Academic (Bulgaria)
Stevan Nađfeji – F, Beobanka (FR Yugoslavia)- Olumide Oyedeji – F, DJK Würzburg (Germany)
Jake Tsakalidis – C, AEK (Greece)
Hedo Türkoğlu – F, Efes Pilsen (Turkey)
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Martin, Josh. "Remembering the Hauntingly Terrible 2000 NBA Draft Class". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
- ^ "SI.com – Photo Gallery – NBA Draft Busts". CNN. Archived from the original on April 18, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
- ^ Schoenfield, David (June 25, 2009). "The first lottery draft still rates the best". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2009.
- ^ Pelton, Kevin (April 2, 2014). "Is 2013-14 worst rookie class ever?". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ^ https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2000.html
- ^ a b c "2000 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
External links
[edit]- "Official website". NBA.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2001. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - 2000 NBA Draft at Basketball-reference.com