Draft Do-Over: The 1998 NBA Draft.

Scribe Written on October 05, 2008

1. Los Angeles Clippers

Actual Pick: Michael Olowakandi, C. Pacific.

Let’s start our 1998 list with a concept that everyone is familiar with– The Clippers failing miserably. Olowokandi was hyped as the next great big man coming out of Pacific, but his game turned out to be more Erick Montross than Shaq Daddy.

His offensive game was particularly ugly, but it was his lethargic demeanor that would ultimately disappoint fans. The guy was a stiff, end of story.

After playing out his rookie contract with the Clippers, Olowokandi would wind up in Minnesota- which is ironic since he was basically the bizarro-world Kevin Garnett– before a mid-season trade in 2006 brought him to Boston. Plagued by injuries by this point, and flat-out terrible to boot, Olowokandi would play only 24 games the following year before calling it quits.

An urban legend even states that if an NBA coach says the name “Kandi Man” three times into a mirror, Olowokandi will suddenly appear in the team’s starting line-up the following game. Terrifying.

Who it Should have been: Dirk Nowitzki (ninth overall to Dallas)

It was a close race between Dirk and Paul Pierce since the two have comparable career numbers, but it was Nowitzki’s 2007 MVP award that ultimately got him the new number one spot.

A relative unknown when he was plucked from a small German club in 1998, Dirk has changed the NBA landscape in a way that no one could have predicted (except maybe Don Nelson, who boldly claimed that Nowitzki would win the Rookie of the Year award on draft night. He was wrong, by the way).

Dirk has helped transform the role of big men in the league with his ability to play on the perimeter while helping to kick-start the European infusion that we’ve all witnessed in recent years.

That’s right Denver fans, Nikoloz Tskitishvili was actually Dirk’s fault.

2. Vancouver Grizzlies.

Actual Pick:

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