[Diophantos]

This has almost certainly been done before, but a little distraction from the upcoming draft...

Battle of the 2001 Draft:
The first 18 picks (1-18) vs. The second 18 picks (19-36)
First 18 team:
PG Joe Johnson
SG Jason Richardson
SF Richard Jefferson / Shane Battier
PF Pau Gasol / Troy Murphy
C Eddy Curry / Tyson Chandler

Second 18 team:
PG Tony Parker / Jamaal Tinsley
SG Gilbert Arenas
SF Gerald Wallace / Trenton Hassell
PF Zach Randolph / Samuel Dalembert
C Mehmet Okur / Brendan Haywood

The first team might win, but it's a heck of a lot closer than it should be.

My other favorite part of this battle:
Total all-star selections among the first 18 picks: 2 (Gasol 1, Johnson 1)
Total all-star selections among the second 18 picks: 6 (Arenas 3, Parker 2, Okur 1)

[ATLien]

I think eight or nine of the first rounders from this year are no longer in the NBA. That's painful.

[WhoDaBest23]

Yeah there are a lot of busts from 2001. The top of that draft was pretty ugly at first, but this turned out to be a fairly good draft class with a lot of the late picks panning out (Arenas, Parker, Wallace, Okur). I'd take the 1st 18 team, but not by much.