The other day, I covered 10 of the “best” 15 draft picks the Raptors have made. Today we’ll be talking about the Top 5 players the Raptors have drafted, a couple of whom might actually make it into the Hall of Fame some day. I will be using a different format for covering these players, as they all have (sometimes quite weak) Hall of Fame cases, which can’t be said of any of the players covered in the earlier post.

See picks 6-16

5. Damon Stoudamire, PG, drafted 7th overall, 1995

Career:

• 13 seasons, 10 quality
• 33.2 MPG
• 11,763P, 5,371A, 953S, 3,039R, 81B in 29,106 minutes over 878 games
• Per 36: 14.5P, 6.6A, 1.2S, 3.8R, 1.B
• .406 FG%, .357 3P%, .833 FT%
• 15.4 PER, .505 TS%, 55.4 Win Shares, .091 WS per 48, 15.4 VORP
• Playoffs:
  • 28.2 MPG
  • 533P, 233A, 32S, 159R, 9B in 1,496 minutes over 53 games
  • Per 36: 12.8P, 5.6A, 1S, 3.8R, .2B
  • .399 FG%, .389 3P%, .847 FT%
  • 13.3 PER, .496 TS%, 1.6 WS, .052 WS per 48, 0.6 VORP
• Traded once in his prime

Accomplishments

• Top 5 in minutes once
• Top 5 in MPG twice, Top 10 thrice
• Top 10 in 3 Pointers thrice
• Top 5 in 3 Point Attempts once, Top 10 thrice
• Top 5 in Assists twice, Top 10 four times
• Top 5 in FT% twice, Top 10 thrice
• Top 5 in APG once, Top 10 thrice
• Top 10 in Assist %age once
• All Rookie

Great Teams:

•  Starting point guard on two Final Fours (’99, ’00 Blazers)

Drafted immediately after Bryant Reeves (phew!) and a few spots ahead of Kurt Thomas; other NBA players drafted below Stoudamire include Brent Barry (15th), Theo Ratliff (18th), Michael Finley (21st) and others. In his draft year, Stoudamire is:

• 9th in games
• 5th in minutes
• 6th in points
• 12th in boards
• 2nd in assists
• 31st in FG% (min 100 games)
• 4th in 3P% (ditto)
• 3rd in FT% (ditto)
• 3rd in MPG
• 5th in PPG
• 16th in RPG
• 1st in APG
• 8th in WS
• 16th in WS per 48 (min 100 games)

Mighty Mouse definitely turned out to be a great pick in his draft class, turning into one of the better players to enter the NBA that year. But, though he is fondly remembered by fans, Stoudamire was far from an All-Time Great and could see his spot on this list usurped by DeRozan or Hibbert pretty soon.

How did he get away? Traded with Carlos Rogers and Walt Williams to the Trail Blazers for Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent, Alvin Williams, two 1st Rounders in 1998 (Bryce Drew, Mirsad Turkcan), and a 2nd Rounder in 1998 (Tyson Wheeler).

So, uh, that was a massive deal. Kind of feel like maybe we won it.

4. Antawn Jamison, SF/PF, 4th overall, 1998

Career:

• 16 seasons, 15 quality
• 34.8 MPG
• 20,042P, 8,157R, 1,761A, 1,048S, 421B in 37,638 minutes over 1,083 games
• Per 36: 19.2P, 7.8R, 1.7A, 1S, .4B
• 3rd All Time in Turnover %age
• .451 FG%, .346 3P%, .724 FT%
• 18.1 PER, .523 TS%, 87.8 Win Shares, .112 WS per 48, 17.4 VORP
• Playoffs:
  • 34.9 MPG
  • 791P, 330, 58A, 36S, 33B in 1606 minutes over 46 games
  • Per 36: 17.7P, 7.4R, 1.3A, .8S, .7B
  • .448 FG%, .341 3P%, .706 FT%
  • 16.5 PER, .524 TS%, 3.1 WS, .093 WS per 48, 0.3 VORP
• Traded the day he was drafted, traded twice in his prime, twice after, and waived at the end of his career

Accomplishments:

• 6th Man of the Year (’04)
• Top 5 Offensive Player by Offensive Rating (’04)
• Top 5 in minutes played thrice, Top 10 four times
• Top 5 in MPG once, Top 10 thrice
• Top 10 in Points thrice
• Top 10 in PPG once
• Top 5 in Field Goals twice, Top 10 thrice
• Top 5 in FGA twice, Top 10 five times
• Top 10 in FTA once
• Top 5 in Offensive Rebounds once
• Top 10 in Defensive Rebounds thrice
• Top 10 Rebounds thrice
• Top 10 in RPG once
• Top 5 in FG% once
• Top 10 in TS% once
• Top 5 in Turnover % six times, Top 10 eleven times
• Top 10 in Offensive Win Shares twice
• 2 All Star Games
• 2nd All Rookie

Great Teams:

None

Drafted immediately behind Raef LaFrentz and immediately ahead of Vince Carter; other NBA players he was drafted ahead of include Dirk (9th), Pierce (10th), Al Harrington (25th), Rashard Lewis (32nd) and lots of others – it was a deep draft. In his draft year, Jamison is:

• 4th in games
• 4th in minutes
• 4th in points
• 2nd in boards
• 11th in assists
• 17th in FG% (min 100 games)
• 17th in 3P% (ditto)
• 23rd in FT% (ditto)
• 5th in MPG
• 4th in PPG
• 2nd in RPG
• 19th in APG
• 5th in Win Shares
• 8th in WS per 48

Jamison is pretty close to the 4th best player in his draft and he was drafted 4th overall. Unfortunately for him, the 5th overall player had the better career. Fortunately for the Raptors, they immediately traded Jamison for that player, Vince.

Jamison has had an odd career: he’s got enough longevity that some people will likely argue that he belongs in the Hall of Fame – despite his poor luck at almost always playing on bad teams – on the other hand by some metrics (VORP), Camby was more important to his teams than Jamison, that’s just one example of likely a large number of players.

Jamison was unlucky in who he played for, and that will likely affect the perception of his legacy of a good but not quite ever great player.

How did he get away? Traded to the Warriors for Vince Carter plus cash immediately after getting drafted.

Oops. (That’s an oops for Golden State.)

3. Marcus Camby, C, drafted 2nd overall, 1996

Career:

• 17 seasons, 14 quality
• 29.5 MPG
• 9,262P, 9,513R, 2,331B (13th all time), 1,837A, 967S in 28,684 minutes over 973 games
• Per 36: 11.6P, 11.9R, 2.9B, 2.3A, 1.2S
• 14th All Time in BPG
• 8th All Time in Block Percentage
• 16th All Time in Defensive Rating
• 3rd All Time in Defensive Box Plus Minus
• .466 FG%, .205 3P%, .670 FT%
• 17.8 PER, .503 TS%, 81.6 Win Shares, .137 WS per 48, 35.6 VORP
• Playoffs:
  • 28.4 MPG
  • 589P, 712R, 151B, 95A, 61S in 2,245 minutes over 79 games
  • Per 36: 9.4P, 11.4R, 2.4B, 1.5A, 1S
  • .443 FG%, .429 3P% (on 7 shots), .578 FT%
  • 15.6 PER, .473 TS%, 5.4 WS, .116 WS per 48, 1.7 VORP
• Traded 7 times but only once in his prime

Accomplishments:

• Best Defensive Player by Defensive Rating (’01), Top 5 five times (’00, ’05, ’06, ’07), Top 10 (’99, ’08, ’10, ’11, ’12)
• Best Defensive Player by Defensive Box Plus Minus five times (’05,
  ’08, ’10, ’11, ’12), Top 5 ten times (’01, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’09), Top 10
  eleven times (’00)
• Top 10 in Offensive Rebounds once
• Top 5 in Defensive Rebounds thrice, Top 10 five times
• Top 5 in Rebounds twice, Top 10 thrice
• Top 5 in RPG thrice, Top 10 four times
• Top 5 in Offensive Rebound %age thrice, Top 10 four times
• Led the league in Defensive Rebound %age thrice, Top 5 eleven times
• Led the league in Rebound %age four times, Top 5 eight times, Top 10 ten times
• Led the league in blocks thrice, Top 5 five times, Top 10 seven times
• Led the league in BPG four times, Top 5 eight times, Top 10 ten times
• Led the league in Block %age thrice, Top 5 seven times, Top 10 fourteen times
• Top 5 in FG% and 2P FG% once
• Top 5 in Turnover %age once
• Top 10 in Offensive Rating once
• Top 5 in Defensive Win Shares once, Top 10 thrice
• Top 5 in Win Shares per 48 Minutes once
• Top 10 in VORP once
• 2 1st All Defense, 2 2nd Team, All Rookie

Great Teams:

• “Backup” centre – but he played more minutes than the starter – on one
  Runner Up (’99 Knicks) and (real) backup centre on one Final Four (’00
  Knicks)

Camby was drafted immediately behind Iverson and immediately ahead of Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Starbury, Ray Allen and Atoine Walker; other players drafted below Camby include Kobe (13th), Peja Stojakovic (14th), Nash (15th), Jermaine O’Neal (17th), Zydrunas Ilgauskus (20th).

In his draft year, Camby is:

• 7th in games
• 9th in minutes
• 12th in points
• 1st in boards
• 10th in assists
• 10th in FG% (min 100 games)
• 24th in 3P% (ditto)
• 25th in FT% (ditto)
• 10th in MPG
• 12th in PPG
• 1st in RPG
• 13th in APG
• 6th in Win Shares
• 7th in WS per 48

By how he compares to his draft class in he above categories, Camby looks like a bit of a semi-bust, not a full on bust, but a least a semi-bust. And that’s probably why he wasn’t included on that list on TSN.ca.

But these are almost entirely offensive categories. Defense isn’t mentioned (BPG for example) except for rebounds, which are about 2/3 defensive and 1/3 offensive usually. If we just focus on the above numbers, and not on some other notable things, Camby looks pedestrian and a bad pick at 2. (Obviously if the draft could be done in the full possession of knowledge of the future, the 13th overall player would have gone 1st.)

But, though he never won the DPOY, Camby was, by two separate metrics, among the best defenders in the league, perhaps even the best, for a number of years. Unfortunately for Camby, the way we think about defense has evolved only after his prime, so he will likely not get a lot of respect from HOF voters. He should get a least some respect from us, and until Hibbert gets a few more (consistent) years under his belt, Camby stands as the best defender the Raps ever drafted.

How did he get away? Traded to the Knicks for Sean Marks, Charles Oakley and cashmoney. Ooof.

2. Chris Bosh, PF/C, drafted 4th overall, 2003

Career:

• 12 seasons, all quality
• 35.9 MPG
• 16,179P, 7,202R, 898B, 1,667A, 694S in 30,158 minutes over 840 games
• Per 36: 19.3P, 8.6R, 1.1B, 2A, .8S
• .495 FG%, .326 3P%, .799 FT%
• 20.6 PER, .571 TS%, 99.6 WS, .159 WS per 48 minutes, 25.6 VORP
• Playoffs:
  • 35.2 MPG
  • 1,388P, 665R, 102B, 119A, 73S in 3,131 minutes over 89 games
  • Per 36: 16P, 7.6R, 1.2B, 1.4A, .8S
  • .473 FG%, .386 3P%, .8 FT%
  • 18.4 PER, .553 TS%, 9.4 Win Shares, .144 WS per 48, 2.4 VORP
• Rights traded once in his prime

Accomplishments:

• Top 5 player by PER (’10), Top 10 twice (’08)
• Top 10 Offensive Player by Offensive Rating once (’06)
• Top 10 in MPG once
• Top 10 in Usage %age twice
• Top 10 in Points twice
• Top 10 in PPG thrice
• Top 5 in Free Throws once, Top 10 four times
• Top 5 in FTA once, Top 10 four times
• Top 10 in Defensive Rebounds thrice
• Top 10 in Rebounds once
• Top 10 in RPG twice
• Top 10 in Offensive Win Shares once
• 10 All Star Games
• 1 2nd Team All Star, All Rookie

 Great Teams:

• 3rd best player on two Champions (’12, ’13 Heat) and two Runners Up (’11, ’14 Heat)
• Olympic Champion (’08)
• World Champion Bronze Medalist (’06)

Drafted immediately behind Melo and immediately ahead of Wade and Chris Kaman; other NBA players drafted below Bosh include David West (18th), Josh Howard (29th), Mo Williams (47th), Kyle Korver (51st) and lots of others.

In his draft year, Bosh is:

• 4th in games
• 3rd in minutes
• 4th in points
• 1st in boards
• 11th in assists
• 4th in FG% (min 100 games)
• 24th in 3P%
• 11th in FT% (min 100 games)
• 4th in MPG
• 4th in PPG
• 1st in RPG
• 14th in APG (min 100 games)
• 3rd in Win Shares
• 3rd in WS per 48 minutes

Just like Jamison, Bosh has been outshone by the player drafted immediately below him. However, unlike Jamison, Bosh’s fate is now tied to Wade’s, so it’s harder to compare and contrast the two.

This draft is widely held to be one of the greatest ever, so it’s a testament to his career that Bosh comes out as the 3rd or 4th best player regardless of where he was drafted. (Who’d rather have had Melo at this point?) Also, Bosh is the first person on this list we can say with pretty good certainty is going to the Hall of Fame.

How did he get away? Rights traded to the Heat for two 2011 1st Rounders (Norris Cole, Valanciunas).

1. Tracy McGrady, SG/SF, drafted 9th overall, 1997

Career:

• 15 seasons, 13 quality
• 32.7 MPG
• 18,381P, 4,161A, 1,136S, 5,276R, 807B in 30,658 minutes over 938 games
• Per 36: 19.6P, 4.4A, 1.2S, 5.6R, .9B
• 13th All Time in Usage %age
• 21st All Time in Box Plus Minus
• 21st All time in Offensive Box Plus Minus
• .435 FG%, .338 3P%, .746 FT%
• 22.1 PER, .519 TS%, 97.3 WS, .152 WS per 48, 50.6 VORP
• Playoffs:
  • 34.5 MPG
  • 1,109P, 249A, 53S, 286R, 47B in 1,724 minutes over 50 games
  • Per 36: 23.2P, 5.2A, 1.1S, 6R, 1B
  • .426 FG%, .29 3P%, .757 FT%
  • 23.4 PER, .512 TS%, 4.5 WS, .125 WS per 48, 1.8 VORP
• Traded twice in his prime and once after

 Accomplishments:

• Most Improved Player (’01)
• Best Player by PER (’03), Top 5 (’01, ’02, ’04)
• Best Player by Win Shares Per 48 Minutes (’03)
• Best Player by Box Plus Minus (’03)
• Best Offensive Player by Offensive Box Plus Minus (’03, ’04)
• Top 5 Player by VORP (’02, ’03, ’04, ’05), Top 10 (’01, ’07)
• Top 5 in Minutes once
• Top 5 in MPG once, Top 10 twice
• Led the league in Usage %age twice, Top 5 six times, Top 10 seven times
• Top 5 in Points thrice, Top 10 six times
• Led league in PPG twice, Top 5 thrice, Top 10 eight times
• Top 5 in Field Goals five times, Top 10 six times
• Top 5 in FGA six times
• Top 5 in 3 Pointers twice
• Top 5 in 3PA twice, Top 10 thrice
• Top 5 in Free Throws once Top 10 four times
• Top 5in FTA once, Top 10 four times
• Top 10 in Assist %age once
• Top 10 in Steals once
• Top 10 in SPG once
• Top 10 in Blocks once
• Top 10 in Turnover %age once
• Led the league in Offensive Win Shares once, Top 10 four times
• Top 5 in Defensive Win Shares once
• Top 5 in Win Shares once, Top 10 thrice
• 7 All Star Game appearances
• 2 1st Team All Stars, 3 2nd Team, 2 3rd Team

Great Teams:

None

Drafted immediately behind Adonal Foyle and immediately ahead of Danny Fortson. (Phew.) Notable NBA players drafted below McGrady begin and end with Stephen Jackson (42nd).

In his draft year, McGrady is:

• 3rd in games
• 3rd in minutes
• 2nd in points
• 2nd in boards
• 3rd in assists
• 17th in FG% (min 100 games)
• 14th in 3P% (ditto)
• 21st in FT% (ditto)
• 2nd in MPG
• 1st in PPG
• 4th in RPG
• 3rd in APG
• 3rd in Win Shares
• 4th in WS per 48 (min 100 games)

So, um, that was the right choice.  The only reason T-Mac wasn’t the best player in his draft is because Tim Duncan went first overall that year. The only reason he looks like the 3rd best player is because Chauncey Billups had fewer injury problems and was lucky enough to get traded to the Pistons.

The idea that the Raps have drafted a better player than T-Mac is patently absurd. Bosh is great, but he was never this dominant. And nobody else is worth mentioning. And in case all you remember is poor old beaten-up-by-injuries, just look at this:

• 2,407P, 411A, 124S, 488R, 59B in 2954 minutes over 75 games
• .457 FG%, .386 3P%, .793 FT%, .564 TS%
• 30.3 PER

This is the 17th greatest offensive regular season in NBA history. It happened in 2002-03. It was T-Mac at his best.

People will say T-Mac never won a playoff series and so somehow he wasn’t that great. That’s stupid, particularly in a 30 team league and particularly given the injury history of both T-Mac and his best teammates. And look at his team that year, what the hell was he supposed to do with that?

There is zero debate about who the best Raptors draft pick of all time is, despite what TSN would tell you.

There shouldn’t be much debate about whether or not T-Mac makes the Hall of Fame.