| 2000 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | June 28, 2000 |
| Location | Target Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
| Network(s) | |
| Overview | |
| 58 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Kenyon Martin (New Jersey Nets) |
The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts (through 2010) all took place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City (though Madison Square Garden itself is the home of the New York Knicks, they do not play in the theater). As of 2024, it is also the last NBA draft where a college senior was the number-one overall selection.
The 2000 draft class is considered the worst in NBA history. Few of its draftees would enjoy extended careers in the league. Just three of them—top pick Kenyon Martin, first-round selection Jamaal Magloire (19th overall) and second-round pick Michael Redd (43rd overall) -- ever played in an NBA All-Star Game. Each of the three made their one and only All-Star appearance in 2004. Redd was the lone player from this draft to ever be chosen for an All-NBA Team (his sole appearance was on the third team in 2004). Only three players in this draft class won a major end-of-season award in their careers: Hedo Türkoğlu was named Most Improved Player in 2008, Mike Miller won the NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA Sixth Man of the Year awards in 2001 and 2006 respectively, and Jamal Crawford was awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Sports Illustrated named this entire draft class (as opposed to individual players) the sixth biggest bust of the modern era – making it the only draft class among the site's top 20 list.[1] Just before the 2009 draft, ESPN.com columnist David Schoenfield graded all of the drafts since the institution of the draft lottery in 1985, and the only draft to which he gave the lowest possible grade of 'F' was the 2000 draft.[2] Using the WARP (wins above replacement player) metric, the 2000 NBA draft class collectively produced at a rate of 17.3 wins worse than a group of "average replacement players", effectively making this draft class the only one in NBA history to leave the league's talent pool worse than it had been before.[3]
Eight of the players selected in this draft never played in an NBA game in their professional basketball careers. Both of the players drafted by the San Antonio Spurs (Chris Carrawell and Cory Hightower) are among this group.
- ^ "SI.com – Photo Gallery – NBA Draft Busts". CNN. Archived from the original on April 18, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
- ^ Schoenfield, David (June 25, 2009). "The first lottery draft still rates the best". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2009.
- ^ Pelton, Kevin (April 2, 2014). "Is 2013-14 worst rookie class ever?". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014.