For all the uncertainty surrounding the NBA Draft, the very highest picks still have the greatest chance of becoming all-time superstars. Sometimes, the pick is just too obvious to miss, like LeBron James, Hakeem Olajuwon or Shaquille O’Neal. Even Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant didn’t fall out of the top three, and those picked ahead of them (aside from Olajuwon, who was drafted the same year as Jordan) are often considered historic mistakes.
If that’s the case, what do we say about 2009, when Stephen Curry, the reigning MVP and NBA champion, fell all the way to the seventh pick?
To be fair, Curry was never the can’t-miss player LeBron was, or even close. He played in a mid-major school and was skinny as a rail. What draft hype he did have was tied to his one man show in the NCAA Tournament, criteria that has come back to bite many teams (did someone say Adam Morrison?) in the past. But still, it has to sting those who had the six picks ahead of Steph in 2009, none more so than the Minnesota Timberwolves, who picked back-to-back point guards not named Curry. In case you had forgotten, this t-shirt at a T-Wolves game on Tuesday serves as a poignant reminder:
My boy @JohnSharkman with the shirt to end all shirts pic.twitter.com/5IUhgYXbCd
— Jim Souhan (@SouhanStrib) March 9, 2016
Of course, Rubio has turned into a serviceable NBA player, and his selection meant that the Wolves wanted more size out of their next pick at guard. Still, it’s inexcusable — and yet, Flynn still isn’t a shoo-in for the biggest bust in the draft. The Memphis Grizzlies, with only Blake Griffin off the board and James Harden, Curry and DeMar DeRozan yet to be called, picked Hasheem Thabeet. Oh, you poor, poor Grizzlies.
Still, the Grizzlies aren’t even the fanbase for whom that shirt stings the second-hardest — that would be Knicks fans, who were desperate for Curry at the time, only to see him snatched one pick before theirs. The Knicks would settle for Jordan Hill, who has since carved out a role as a decent backup big, but never did so in New York. Hey, at least they have Kristaps Porzingis now. It’s not Steph, but it’s something.
