The Detroit Pistons’ selection of Darko Milicic in the 2003 NBA Draft has long been used as the gold standard for awful picks, but the Philadelphia 76ers have done their best to knock the Pistons out of this spot.
We all know the story by now: Joe Dumars decided to go with Milicic in a draft where the next picks were Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. The Pistons won a title anyway, but it’s still one of the biggest “what-ifs” in draft history, as there are many who believe Detroit would have had a dynasty had they just taken Carmelo.
That topic still hasn’t died, as it’s been unearthed again this offseason, as Anthony just became eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Milicic never did anything for Detroit, had a quiet career and ended up being a kickboxer, so it’s safe to say Joe Dumars would like to have that pick back.
He’s taken his share of heat for it, but it may be time to shift some of it to the 76ers, who have watched two of their former #1 picks flame out of the league before the age of 30.
Detroit Pistons draft: At least the Pistons won a title with Darko
Say what you want about the pick, but Darko has a ring, something you can’t say for any of the 76ers that were selected during their infamous Process era, proof that tanking doesn’t work unless you nail your draft picks.
The 76ers certainly had plenty of chances, but out of all of the high picks they had between 2013-2018, only the constantly injured Joel Embiid, who has never made it conference finals, remains on the team.
The 76ers took Ben Simmons with the first overall pick and after a promising start to his career, ultimately flamed out and is currently out of the league and reportedly contemplating his future after getting no offers this summer.
Philly took Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick the year after that, another player who is out of the league before his 30th birthday. This one was compounded by the fact that they traded up to get him, allowing the Celtics to take Jayson Tatum a year after taking Jalen Brown.
In other words, the 76ers could have easily had Tatum and Brown instead of Simmons and Fultz, draft misses that cost them a chance at titles and sustained success.
The Darko pick was bad, but the Pistons didn’t need it to work out to have sustained success, which wasn’t true in Philly when they completely whiffed on two number one picks, not to mention another number three pick they wasted on Jahlil Okafor, though I will cut them some slack on that one since it was a lousy draft with a ton of busts in the top 10, as the Pistons know well.
Darko should no longer be used as the modern avatar for a bad draft pick, as Philly had two number one picks and used them on players who aren’t even in the league, which was far more damaging.