With the NBA season now a month in, and with not one but two players slated to tie the record for longest career in NBA history during this season, I thought I would take a look back at each NBA draft, starting with 1998, and figure out how many of the draft picks are still playing in the NBA. I will show my favorite rookie season card I have scanned as well, at least for the earlier years.
1998- 2
The 1998 NBA Draft class was not considered a particularly strong one at the time, but it gave the league 5 All-Stars, and at least three guaranteed Hall of Famers. An amazingly high percentage of players drafted played at least one NBA game- 56 of 58. At the time it happened, few people would likely have said that it would give the NBA the best European player in history, but that turned out to be true- Dirk Nowitzki has played his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks, eventually rising to be 6th all-time in career scoring, (since passed by LeBron James) and with at least another season left to rack up numbers. Vince Carter was a superstar the instant he stepped onto the court, known at first for high-flying dunks, before settling into a solid career as a role player, accepting the loss of superstar status better than just about, if not, anyone in NBA history. Both, along with Paul Pierce, are guaranteed 1st-ballot Hall-of-Famers, and both rank in the top 10 in most number of cards produced in NBA history. Vince has already tied the record for longest career, Dirk is still out recovering from surgery.
1999- 0
The 1999 draft class gave the NBA my all-time favorite player, but as he's longer active, he doesn't
get included in this rundown. There are no players from this draft still active in the NBA. Jason Terry, who had been in the NBA since 1999, played last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, but was unable to find a new contract and has moved into broadcasting. Manu Ginobili, who was drafted in 1999 but played in Europe until 2002, retired after a Hall of Fame career at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season.
2000-1
This was nearly a zero, but Jamal Crawford got signed by the Suns just before the season began. He has been the only player left from this draft for the last two seasons now.
2001- 4
The 2001 draft is the first year that sees more than two players still in the NBA. In order of being drafted: Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph and Tony Parker. Richard Jefferson retired at the conclusion of 2017-18, and Joe Johnson did not officially retire- but no teams offered him a new contract, either. I made up this graphic on my old computer before the two of them exited the league and it was the last graphic I made, so I don't want to delete it. So enjoy a bonus shot of RJ and Joe. (I originally began this post in September and had to retool parts of it due to retirements, so I decided to wait until the season began so rosters would be set)
2002- 1
The rookie class of 2002-03 is a favorite of mine, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not considered a particularly strong one. 2002 was such a hard time for me, the NBA and NASCAR were pretty much the only good things in my life at that time. So I have a lot of sentimental value for the rookies of that season. Only one is left, and that is, surprisingly, Nene. Interestingly enough, likely only one player from this draft will make the Hall of Fame- and he's already in there, #1 pick Yao Ming, who had his career cut short by injury. Born Maybyner Hilario, he legally changed his name to Nene following the 2002-03 season.
2003- 4
Largely considered one of the best drafts in NBA history, most of that talent is found at the very top, and not surprisingly 3 of the 4 active players came from the top 5 picks. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Kyle Korver, who was the 51st pick, are the remaining active players. Wade has already announced that this is his final year, and Korver has said that he considered retiring before the season began.
2004 - 6
Dwight Howard, Shaun Livingston, Devin Harris, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala and J.R. Smith are all that's left. Shaun Livingston has to be the most impressive though, as his knee injury was so bad that it's become legendary- doctors were planning to amputate it but he said no way. He missed about 2 years because of it, but came back and has won multiple championships as a key reserve for the Warriors.
2005 - 9
Marvin Williams, Chris Paul, Raymond Felton, Channing Frye, C.J. Miles, Ersan Ilyasova, Lou Williams, Amir Johnson and Marcin Gortat remain from this class. Both Ilyasova and Gortat played in Europe at times, Gortat did not enter the NBA in 2005-06. This number could go up late in the season, as several players are active overseas and could return to the NBA once their seasons end; Jarrett Jack was the last cut off the Pelicans roster just before the season began. Amir Johnson was the last player who was not forced to either attend college or waste a year doing nothing. I do not yet have a rookie card of Amir Johnson, this 2012-13 Panini Brilliance is the oldest I have scanned.
2006- 7
LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, J.J. Redick, Thabo Sefolosha, Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry and Paul Millsap are all that remain. This draft class is the last I saw before I took a break from the NBA, which I now consider one of the biggest mistakes of my life. We are at the point now where I don't have rookie cards for the majority of players, so I will go with the oldest card I have of each player. Only Aldridge, Redick and Rondo are actually 2006-07 cards.
2007 - 9
Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley, Jeff Green, Thaddeus Young, Marco Belinelli, Jared Dudley, Wilson Chandler and Marc Gasol. While that is the list of who is on an NBA roster and has played this season, there are several more players who were active last season and may return to the NBA at some point this season. How I wish now that I had stayed in the game, and gotten to see the early years of Kevin Durant. I will always regret that.
2008 - 20
Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Danilo Gallinari, Eric Gordon, D.J. Augustine, Brook Lopez. Jerryd Bayless, Robin Lopez. JaVale McGee, Ryan Anderson, Courney Lee, Kosta Koufos, Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, George Hill, DeAndre Jordan, Luc Mbah a Moute, Goran Dragic. With this many names, the panels would be too small to see and it's a lot of work so just a list from here on out. The average NBA career lasts around 8 seasons so seeing that there are still 20 active in their 11th season actually makes me very happy. And not only are so many active- many of them are still starters on their teams. Some are downright superstars. Two are former league MVPs.
2009 - 18 or 19, depending
Blake Griffin, James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Omri Casspi, Taj Gibson, DeMarre Carroll, Wayne Ellington, Dante Cunningham, Patrick Beverley, Jonas Jerebko, Danny Green and Patty Mills. Technically, Jodie Meeks is still in the league but is not expected to play again. Currently serving a steroid suspension, it's expected he will be waved when the suspension is completed. Another year that I will forever kick myself for missing out on the chance to get rookie cards of. (Edit: Meeks was waived earlier in the day I scheduled this post for)
2010- 17
John Wall, Evan Turner, Derrick Favors, Wesley Johnson, DeMarcus Cousins, Ekpe Udoh, Greg Monroe, Al-Farouq Aminu, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Ed Davis, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, Avery Bradley, Quincy Pondexter, Hassan Whiteside, and Lance Stephenson.
The 2010 draft is not considered a particularly strong one, but all these players have made it to season #9- more than the average NBA career.
2011- 28
Kyrie Irving, Enes Kanter, Tristan Thompson, Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo, Brandon Knight*, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Alec Burks, Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic, Iman Shumpert, Tobias Harris, Kenneth Faried, Nicola Mirotic, Reggie Jackson, MarShon Brooks, Cory Joseph, Jimmy Butler, Bojan Bogdanovic, Shelvin Mack, Chandler Parsons, Jon Leuer, Davis Bertans, E'Twaun Moore and Isaiah Thomas.
The lockout, part two. At the 8th season mark, all of these players have hit the average length of careers. Most of these who have made it this far still have some time left to play- the average is kind of misleading. If you can make it in the NBA, you can usually stick around a while. But far more players only get in a year or two if that much. Brandon Knight last played in 2016-17. He has suffered major problems with his knee and it's unsure if he will ever be able to play again.
2012- 23
Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, Dion Waiters, Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, Terrence Ross, Andre Drummond, Austin Rivers, Meyers Leonard, Jeremy Lamb, John Henson, Maurice Harkless, Evan Fournier, Miles Plumlee, Tomas Satoransky, Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Will Barton, Mike Scott, Darius Miller and Kyle O'Quinn
A significant dropoff in the number of active players, 5 less than the year. This is the year I got back into the NBA full time- I started to watch the games again during the 2010-11 playoffs- but from this point on, I've been actively watching and collecting again.
2013 - 29
Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Cody Zeller, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Trey Burke, CJ McCollum, Michael Carter-Williams, Steven Adams, Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dennis Schroder, Tony Snell, Gorgui Dieng, Mason Plumlee, Solomon Hill, Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, Andre Roberson, Rudy Gobert, Allen Crabbe, Alex Abrines, Isaiah Canaan, Mike Muscala, Raul Neto, James Ennis and Lorenzo Brown
The 2013 class is considered one of the weaker classes in recent memory, but it has produced one bonafide superstar in Antetokounmpo, and two players who the argument could be made to be superstars in Oladipo and McCollum. Somewhat embarrassingly, the #1 draft pick is no longer in the league, because no teams want him. (Anthony Benett)
2014 - 29
Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Aaron Gordon, Dante Exum, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Nik Stauskas, Noah Vonleh, Elfrid Payton, Doug McDermott, Dario Saric, Zach LaVine, T.J. Warren, Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris, Rodney Hood, Shabazz Napier, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kyle Anderson, Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jerami Grant, Glenn Robinson III, Nikola Jokic, Dwight Powell, Jordan Clarkson and Jordan McRae
Even though this year's draft means that the players are in their fifth year, only 21 of the 30 first round picks are still in the NBA.
2015 - 34
Karl-Anthony Towns, D'Angelo Russell, Jahlil Okafor, Kristaps Porzingis, Mario Hezonja, Willie Cauley-Stein, Emmanuel Mudiay, Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky, Justise Winslow, Myles Turner, Trey Lyles, Devin Booker, Cameron Payne, Kelly Oubre, Terry Rozier, Sam Dekker, Jerian Grant, Delon Wright, Justin Anderson, Bobby Portis, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Tyus Jones, Jarell Martin, Larry Nance Jr., Kevon Looney, Cedi Osman, Montrezl Harrell, Willy Hernangomez, Richaun Holmes, Josh Richardson, Pat Connaughton, Andrew Harrison and Norman Powell
With 34 active players, the highest number seen yet. Interestingly, most are from the first round, with only the final 8 names being from round two. Only 44 of the 60 players taken in the 2015 draft played a game in the NBA, so for 34 of them to be active is a high percentage, but, at the 4 year mark, that's to be expected.
2016 - 37
Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, Dragan Bender, Kris Dunn, Buddy Hield, Jamal Murray, Marquese Chriss, Jakob Poeltl, Thon Maker, Domantas Sabonis, Taurean Prince, Denzel Valentine, Juan Hernangomez, Guerschon Yabusele, Wade Baldwin IV, Henry Ellenson, Malik Beasley, Caris LeVert, DeAndre' Bembry, Malachi Richardson, Ante Zizic, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Furkan Korkmaz, Pascal Siakam, Skal Labissiere, Dejounte Murray, Damian Jones, Ivica Zubac, Cheick Diallo, Tyler Ulis, Malcolm Brogdon, Zhou Qi, Jake Layman, Georges Niang, Abdel Nader and Tyrone Wallace
Of the 60 players drafted, 54 have played in the NBA, and 37 are still on rosters. Considering that 1st round draft picks are guaranteed a 3 year contract, it's actually sort of embarrassing, for the players, that two of them are already out of the league. (To be out of the league with a guaranteed contract, it means the teams literally paid you to go away)
2017 - 48
Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson, De'Aaron Fox, Jonathan Isaac, Lauri Markkanen, Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith, Zach Collins, Malik Monk, Luke Kennard, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, Justin Jackson, Justin Patton, D.J. Wilson, TJ Leaf, John Collins, Harry Giles, Terrance Ferguson, Jarrett Allen, OG Anunoby, Tyler Lydon, Caleb Swanigan, Kyle Kuzma, Tony Bradley, Derrick White, Josh Hart, Frank Jackson, Davon Reed*, Wes Iwundu, Frank Mason III, Ivan Rabb, Jonah Bolden, Semi Ojeleye, Jordan Bell, Dwayne Bacon, Tyler Dorsey, Thomas Bryant, Isaiah Hartenstein, Damyean Dotson, Dillon Brooks, Sterling Brown, Ike Anigbogu, Sindarius Thornwell, Monte Morris, Edmond Sumner and Jabari Bird**
This is only last year so it's not surprising that so many players are still active. Davon Reed is on a two-way contract and may not get called up. Jabari Bird is battling mental health issues and legal troubles as a result of the same, it's unknown if he will ever return to the NBA. Several of the players from the 2017 draft actually made their debut in the 2018-19 season. I do not know if Tony Bradley will ever get a chance to play this season. He was only put into 9 games all of last season.
2018
It's too early to tell who will "make it" and who won't. The season is still early with the most games any team has played is 14. Already 43 players from the draft class have made their NBA debut, and at least 4 more are out injured- with three of them expected to miss the entire season due to the injury. There were only two "draft and stash" picks this year (many of whom never come to the NBA) so the number could go up as the season goes on and players go down with injury, leading to G-League callups, potentially some could be from this year's class. Only time will tell what the future holds.
All those numbers equal up to 370 players, which means the rest must have either been undrafted, or I counted wrong.
