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:
5 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
John Lorge 9 months ago
Really nice work, I wouldn't bump Vince and Jwill down though. Remeber all that these players did for the league comming out of the lockout? Vince and Williams were the reason people tuned into sports center every night. I was too young to remember Jordan's first couple years in the league, but nobody has attacked the rim or completed as technical of dunks (many in the half court) that Vince did. If it were not for Vince, Toronto might have ended up like the Grizz, moving out of CA.
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Joe Moreno 9 months ago
Excellent article top to bottom. I contend that the Clippers could have had much success if they picked Mike Bibby instead of Olowakandi, like they were strongly considering at the time. Although players like Pierce and Dirk and Carter could have all fit in well, consider the moves that followed the Kanid-man. The team would eventually draft Odom and trade for Brand and Maggette. That squad would have been scary if they had an actual PG who could make it all work. They did eventually trade for A. Miller, but by then the team had already tuned out the coach and everyone was playing selfish. Bibby isn't the best talent of that draft per se, but he would have been a perfect fit. Horrible, horrible (but not surprising) decision by Elgin Baylor.
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Steven Jarjees 9 months ago
Good article Brett. I agree with most of your picks. I think that VC should have been the 3rd pick though. But other than that, everything else looks good.
"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."
LMAO that was hilarious.
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robert stevenson 9 months ago
I tried it and it works, I now have the kandi man cleaning my toilet, badly!!!
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Brett Fulmore 9 months ago
Olowokandi is probably as bad at cleaning toilets as he was at cleaning the glass.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.
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