The 2011 Draft is looking better and better in retrospect

[RedBlackAttack]

It was considered incredibly "weak" at the time. Looking back on it, there are a hell of a lot of impact players in today's league that came from the 2011 draft.

There are four guys who are considered elite at their respective positions and then a slew of good to serviceable players.

Top Tier
Kyrie Irving
Kawhi Leonard
Klay Thompson
Jimmy Butler

Solid Tier
Chandler Parsons
Enes Kanter
Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Mirotic
Tristan Thompson
Kenneth Faried
Jonas Valanciunas
Markieff Morris
Reggie Jackson
Isaiah Thomas
Kemba Walker
Iman Shumpert
Tobias Harris
Donatas Motiejunas
Brandon Knight

Serviceable Tier
Alec Burks
Marcus Morris
Bojan Bogdanovic
Norris Cole
Jon Leuer
Cory Joseph


Turned out to be a pretty deep draft.

[Imtheman]

Brandon Knight should be a tier higher

[RightTwoCensor]

Every draft has 20 guys that'll stick around for 5-10 years, that's the way the league works. People overrate recent drafts that when they consists of multiple NBA Players. The drafts that deserve praise are the one's that feature multiple Hall of Famers/Transcendent Players within 5 years of the time they were drafted.

1984
1996
2003

[SugarHill]

it's actually really good

the only drafts since 2000 that are better are 03, 07-09

[RedBlackAttack]

Brandon Knight should be a tier higher

I can see that. It just felt weird putting Knight on the same level as Parsons and the others at the better end of that group. I probably should have split it into four but that was too much work.

Every draft has 20 guys that'll stick around for 5-10 years, that's the way the league works. People overrate recent drafts that when they consists of multiple NBA Players. The drafts that deserve praise are the one's that feature multiple Hall of Famers/Transcendent Players within 5 years of the time they were drafted.

1984
1996
2003

There aren't just great drafts and good drafts. Some drafts are horrendous -- like 2013 -- and some drafts are expected to be really bad (like 2011), but turn out to be far better than expectations.

That's what we're beginning to see here. When you have four guys at the top that are legitimately key pieces on four of the best teams in the league and then 20 other guys who are either good or contributing, that's a solid draft.

It stacks up pretty well against other drafts from the last decade or so, and that is just as some of these guys are beginning to show their worth.

[hawksdogsbraves]

I agree that Knight should be a tier higher but yeah, it's not too bad a draft. A lot of the better players took a while to develop.

[FreezingTsmoove]

Why only one Morris

[RedBlackAttack]

Alright, I moved Knight up a group. Also, I forgot about Mirotic who was drafted that year.

Why only one Morris

Added Marcus.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Man whatever happened to MarShon Brooks? People loved that kid his first season on the Nets.

I still can't figure out how Derrick Williams busted so hard either, dude had (has?) all the tools.

[outbreak]

I can see that. It just felt weird putting Knight on the same level as Parsons and the others at the better end of that group. I probably should have split it into four but that was too much work.



There aren't just great drafts and good drafts. Some drafts are horrendous -- like 2013 -- and some drafts are expected to be really bad (like 2011), but turn out to be far better than expectations.

That's what we're beginning to see here. When you have four guys at the top that are legitimately key pieces on four of the best teams in the league and then 20 other guys who are either good or contributing, that's a solid draft.

It stacks up pretty well against other drafts from the last decade or so, and that is just as some of these guys are beginning to show their worth.

I agree with most of what you said but I think if you judged the 2011 2 years ago (same time period you are using on the 2013) you wouldn't have nearly as many good players on your list. Another 2 years and I think we see some of the medicore players from the 2013 draft improve more. I agree it doesn't look like it's been a great draft but I don't think it will go down as horrendous given more time.

[beastee]

Vucevic should be top tier...20/10 and young. come on!

[Ariza4three]

Vucevic should be top tier...20/10 and young. come on!

he dont play no defense

[bobopenguin]

Nikola Vucevic should be a top tier. he has a bright future. already multiple games of 20/20..

[Ariza4three]

Nikola Vucevic should be a top tier. he has a bright future. already multiple games of 20/20..

no defense

[DonDadda59]

You usually have to give drafts 3 years or so before you can make real judgments about them. Some drafts are loaded with top tier talent that are immediately impactful, like someone pointed out 84, 96 (even though Kobe took 3 years to develop), 2003. '11 was a solid class from top to bottom.