The Pistons messed up big time when they picked up Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony in 2003, but was it lucky for LeBron James?
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The year 2003 brought one of the most sought-after Drafts in NBA history, obviously because of the fact that LeBron James, The Chosen One, was making his way into the league.
However, what really made it a massive day in the game’s history was, it brought in three other future Hall of Famers alongside James from the pool that will go on to have a combined 26 championships between them in the future.
Carmelo Anthony, the 3rd pick, is the only one among the four future first-ballot HOFs, who has not won a championship. Rest – LeBron (4), Dwyane Wade (3), and Chris Bosh (2), have nine championships between them.
Also read: Shaquille O’Neal busted out “dance” moves to beat LeBron James and Dwight Howard in 2007
And according to the 2004 Finals MVP, Melo would have had a drastically different career if he came to the Pistons as the second pick.
Chauncey Billups believes LeBron James’ legacy would be drastically different if the Pistons chose Carmelo Anthony
Darko Milicic going to the Detroit Pistons at number two over the likes of Anthony, Wade, and Bosh is still considered one of the biggest fumbles in Draft night’s history.
And Chauncey Billups, who commanded that team at the time, believes that both Carmelo and LeBron would have a fairly different career trajectory if the 10x All-Star wasn’t snubbed by his team.
The culture of that Pistons team would surely have instilled a defensive approach in the 2013 scoring champ’s game. Imagine Anthony playing defense with the kind of offensive threat he was. Jeez!
Given how well the 3-and-D Melo played defense in the last two years it’s not at all tough to imagine him doing it since the beginning.
There could have been a dynasty in Detroit straight from 2003-04 to at least 2007/08 and what Melo could have become in that period is too thrilling to even think about it.
However, The King would definitely be as great as he is now irrespective of how his draft partner’s career would have been. Anthony becoming a better player would only have given him even more motivation to be greater.
