The 2003 NBA Draft had plenty of talent. The Detroit Pistons, Eastern Conference finalists, owned the No. 2 pick thanks to a trade in 1996 with the Vancouver Grizzlies. The Pistons front office took a shot at an 18-year-old prospect, Darko Milicic.
Hindsight is 20/20.
The seven footer from Serbia and Montenegro was supposed to gradually improve and gain playing time as he adjusted to the NBA style of play. In his first three seasons in the league, Milicic averaged 5.7 minutes per game and a whopping 1.6 points per game.
Now, the Pistons are at home, watching the Finals on TV after a dismal 30-52 record this past season. Joe Dumars, Pistons President of Basketball Operations, has to live with the reality that he drafted the biggest bust in NBA history.
Three of the top five picks in that draft have made up the Big Three in Miami. You might’ve heard of them. LeBron James was taken No. 1 overall; nothing Detroit could’ve done about that. The Pistons passed over Chris Bosh, No. 4, and Dwyane Wade, No. 5, to draft Milicic. Now the three are together chasing a championship as members of the Heat.
This pick is worse than the Portland Trail Blazers picking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Bowie was injury-prone. Darko is ineffective.
What’s interesting about the Pistons is that they had an excellent team without that No. 2 pick. After reaching the conference finals in 2003, they won the 2004 NBA Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers with Milicic warming the bench. They reached the Finals again the next year, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in seven tough games. Detroit lost in the Eastern Conference Finals the next three seasons, marking their sixth straight conference championship series appearance.
Now they’ve gotten older, lost some key players to trades and free agency, and faded from contention.
The Pistons didn’t need that No. 2 pick to win. They didn’t need that No. 2 pick to win a championship. They needed that No. 2 pick to keep winning championships.
Chauncey Billups running the point. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince on the wings. Rasheed and Ben Wallace in the middle. Now throw in a young Wade, Anthony, or Bosh coming off the bench. For years. Scary.
If you think about it, that pick changed the course of NBA history. Let’s consider what would have happened if Detroit passes on Darko and instead drafts Melo. Now the Pistons have a dynasty franchise and the Nuggets probably take Chris Bosh at No. 3, assuming they were able to resist drafting Darko. Toronto’s future changes with that pick, and if they take Wade, it’s safe to say Miami doesn’t win the ’06 Finals or acquire the Big Three for this season.
Even if they don’t take an eventual super-star, there were plenty of other decent players in the 2003 draft: Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, T.J. Ford, David West, Josh Howard, and Mo Williams were all drafted later. Almost anyone would’ve been better than Darko.
I’m not going to go through every possible scenario, that’d take too long. But the Pistons missed a shot at creating one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports.
Instead, they drafted Darko Milicic, who they would trade to the Orlando Magic after three seasons. He’s since played for the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks, and is now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and averaged 8.8 points per game last season, a career high.
The Pistons didn’t take Bowie over Jordan; they took one and a half points per game over Dwyane Wade.