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On this date in 1984, Ndudi Ebi was born. Why is that significant? Well, as we await the decision from the league’s investigation into the Clippers’ alleged cap circumvention, Ebi was once a part of the Joe Smith fiasco with the Minnesota Timberwolves. When the league punished the Wolves, they took away their draft picks from 2001-2005. David Stern eventually gave the Wolves back their picks in 2003 and 2005. They took Ebi in 2003 and Rashad McCants in 2005. So basically … the Wolves still forfeited those picks. Happy birthday, Ndudi!
Draft remix
Let’s reorder some guys from ’96
Technically, the 30th anniversary of the 1996 NBA Draft is not until June 26. But we will be right in the middle of post-draft aftermath and pre-free agency chaos on that day next week. I figured a little calm before the storm right now was the perfect time to talk about that historic class. This class features four* Hall of Famers. Four MVP awards. Six players with their jerseys retired. It’s one of the best drafts we’ve ever seen.
However, teams got a lot wrong in that draft, as we know from three of those MVP awards being taken with the 13th and 15th picks. Let’s have some fun by re-drafting the top 10 in this draft and see how it might have changed those teams’ fortunes.
1. Philadelphia 76ers: Kobe Bryant | SG | Lower Merion High School
What would this change? We know Kobe and his agent were angling for him to find his way to the Lakers, but a homecoming with the Sixers isn’t bad. This adds him to a team with Jerry Stackhouse. Bryant getting his own team sooner, rather than later, could have been fun.
Who was the original pick? Allen Iverson.
Grade for original pick: A+
2. Toronto Raptors: Allen Iverson | SG | Georgetown
What would this change? At the time, a backcourt of Iverson and Damon Stoudamire would’ve been a nightmare defensively for Toronto and for defenses against the Raptors. Would Iverson have wanted to go to Toronto? It’s hard to say. But in the same way Vince Carter would eventually galvanize basketball in Canada in 1999, Iverson would’ve done that to an even greater degree.
Who was the original pick? Marcus Camby.
Grade for original pick: B+
3. Vancouver Grizzlies: Steve Nash | PG | Santa Clara
What would this change? Could Nash have saved basketball in Vancouver? It’s tough to say. Granted, he didn’t become more than an All-Star point guard until he locked in with Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix in 2004. But clearly that level of play existed inside of him. Bringing the Canadian kid to Vancouver to usher in good basketball could have eventually worked.
Who was the original pick? Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Grade for original pick: B
4. Milwaukee Bucks: Ray Allen | SG | Connecticut
What would this change? Uh … so no real change here. They just do it without the trade from Minnesota. Allen is a Hall of Fame shooting guard, who put up 25 points per game in his heyday and became a championship role player in his twilight.
Who was the original pick? Stephon Marbury (traded to Minnesota).
Grade for original pick: A (for Ray Allen)
5. Minnesota Timberwolves: Ben Wallace | C | Virginia Union
What would this change? Remember! Wallace went undrafted in 1996. He’s the fifth Hall of Famer from the class, even though he didn’t get selected. The Wolves getting this defensive master next to Kevin Garnett sets them up down the road. Wallace needed some seasoning, and KG still couldn’t legally drink, but that’s a great base for a patient front office.
Who was the original pick? Ray Allen (traded to Milwaukee).
Grade for original pick: B+ (for Stephon Marbury)
6. Boston Celtics: Jermaine O’Neal | PF/C | Eau Claire High School
What would this change? It would have taken some patience but O’Neal would have been a brilliant pickup here. The Celtics didn’t have any real prospects at that time, and he could have developed into their big man of the future.
Who was the original pick? Antoine Walker.
Grade for original pick: B+
7. LA Clippers: Stephon Marbury | PG | Georgia Tech
What would this change? A young core of Marbury, Brent Barry, Rodney Rogers and Lamond Murray wouldn’t have been terrible. However, working for Donald Sterling probably would have driven Marbury back East quicker than a Minnesota winter.
Who was the original pick? Lorenzen Wright.
Grade for original pick: C-
8. New Jersey Nets: Marcus Camby | C | UMass
What would this change? With John Calipari taking over the Nets, doing that with Camby as his big man like at UMass would’ve been a pretty cool story. Camby could have benefited a lot from Kenny Anderson as the point guard. It would’ve been funny to see a Camby-Shawn Bradley frontcourt.
Who was the original pick? Kerry Kittles.
Grade for original pick: B
9. Dallas Mavericks: Peja Stojaković | SF | PAOK BC (Greece)
What would this change? Stojaković didn’t come over until the 1998-99 season. So in this scenario, we’re pretending the Mavs still end up with Dirk Nowitzki in 1998 and have the greatest shooting forward duo of all-time.
Who was the original pick? Samaki Walker.
Grade for original pick: C-
10. Indiana Pacers: Antoine Walker | F | Kentucky
What would this change? A loaded Pacers team ending up with Walker as a young player off the bench, eventually working his way into the starting lineup to bomb 3s with Reggie Miller, would’ve been a lot of fun.
Who was the original pick? Erick Dampier.
Grade for original pick: B-
The last 24
🏀 Mock up. Speaking of the draft, Vecenie has his latest mock. It’s full of fresh intel on what teams are thinking.🏀
🏀 Inside info. Meanwhile, David Aldridge talked to coaches and executives for their unvarnished takes on all the top prospects. Here’s the dish on the guards.
🍀 Good idea? The Celtics could trade for Giannis. But … should they?
🚌 Parade time! The Knicks are holding their championship parade today. Here’s how to watch.
🎊 Follow along! We’ll be live-blogging the Knicks parade, as well. It’ll be right here.
🤔 Where are they? John Hollinger has the small-forward free-agent class tier’d up. Is Tari Eason the best one?
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
Draft SZN
Looking for the shooters in this year’s class
Perusing our Sam Vecenie’s NBA Draft Guide is pretty addicting. It has me reordering my draft board constantly and making me reconsider quite a few opinions I have about these prospects. That’s because Sam is the best at this. As I was reading it, I thought it would be fun to go over the best outside shooters in the draft and where they could go.
In the lottery
Darius Acuff Jr. | Arkansas | Point guard | 44.0 percent on 209 3FGAs
A Damian Lillard-esque scorer with deep range. He knocked down 49.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and 36 percent on pull-up 3s. Should be a top-five pick in my opinion.
Darius Acuff is the most polished point guard in the 2026 NBA Draft
Sam Vecenie
Brayden Burries | Arizona | Guard | 39.1 percent on 179 3FGAs
He’s a great shooter all over the floor. Burries made 40.3 percent of his pull-up 3-pointers, which shows incredible balance in gathering into his shot.
Middle of the first round
Christian Anderson | Texas Tech | Point guard | 40.0 percent on 447 3FGAs
The sophomore from Texas Tech knocked down a ridiculous 41.7 percent of his pull-up 3-pointers on roughly five attempts per game, according to Sam. He called Anderson the best shooter in this class.
Cameron Carr | Baylor | Guard | 36.7 percent on 229 3FGAs
Not a great pull-up shooter, but he can really knock down catch-and-shoot 3s (40.7). He has a 7-foot wingspan at 6-5, so maybe he’s the new Cedric Coward?
Bennett Stirtz | Iowa | Guard | 37.2 percent on 419 3FGAs
He saw a dip in his pull-up 3-pointers at Iowa (31.1) as opposed to his previous year at Drake (36.7), but all the scouts seem to believe he’ll shoot it with ease in the NBA.
End of first, early second
Richie Saunders | BYU | Wing | 38.7 percent on 530 3FGAs
The BYU senior knocked down over 41 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in his final two seasons. He’ll be 25 years old when the season starts, but he knows how to shoot.
Meleek Thomas | Arkansas | Guard | 41.6 percent on 197 3FGAs
He might have the quickest release of any shooter in this draft, and he doesn’t need space to knock them down. He’s only 6-foot-3, which isn’t great for an off-guard. But he can let it fly.
Isaiah Evans | Duke| Wing | 38.0 percent on 429 3FGAs
We saw a dip in his shooting from his freshman year to his sophomore year, but Vecenie is undeterred. He can come off screens and hit. He can spot-up and hit. Could be a valuable, early second-round guy.
Mid-to-late second rounders
Ryan Conwell | Louisville | Guard | 37.6 percent on 923 3FGAs
Tyler Nickel | Vanderbilt | Wing | 39.4 percent on 650 3FGAs
Lamar Wilkerson | Indiana | Guard | 39.2 percent on 780 3FGAs
You’re probably looking at two-way contracts here, but all three of these guys can legitimately launch. They’re all four-year guys from college who could probably play right away if needed
Knicks can’t miss
Brunson, Hart throw out first-pitch strikes
Yesterday, a day before the Knicks’ championship parade, NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and super role player Josh Hart went to Yankee Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitches. As you likely know by now, Brunson and Hart are best friends. They have a podcast together, and they like to hoop together. I just described 50 percent of men in this country between the ages of 18 and 45.
Of course, we need to judge their throwing forms and make sure they didn’t bounce it to the plate or hit an unsuspecting victim off to the side
Via MLB:
Not a lot of mitt movement there to frame the pitch. No balking. They got the pitch off without the pitch clock. Some solid movement and drop out of Brunson’s pitch, which is always tougher coming from a lefty. Hart went with a little more heat.
Good job, champs! I’m sure they will criticize each other for their respective pitches when it’s time for their next podcast episode.
