Chowder and Champions
Fansided

Boston Celtics: Top 10 “Could Have Been’s” Since 1996

By Jamie Gallagher

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the stage before the start of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the stage before the start of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 11
Next
Boston Celtics
Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Number 4: Tony Parker

Career Averages: 16.6 Points/5.9 Assists/50% Field Goal Percentage

Awards: 2006-07 NBA Finals MVP/6x NBA All Star/3x All NBA Second Team/1x All NBA Third Team/1x All Rookie First Team/4x NBA Champion

Once again another player from the 2001 draft class that the Celtics missed out on.

As I mentioned earlier, the Boston Celtics had three first round picks in 2001 (numbers 10,11, and 21). The C’s took Joe Johnson at 10, Kendrick Brown at 11, and Jospeh Forte at number 21.

As the Celtics picked at 21, names such as Gerald Wallace, Samuel Dalembert, Jamal Tinsley, Tony Parker, and Gilbert Arenas all remained on the board, but the Celtics decided to take Forte who ended up playing in only 25 games throughout his very brief NBA career.

Tony Parker was taken with the last pick in the first round by the Spurs, 7 picks after the C’s took Forte. Parker, like Ginobili was another European talent that went under every teams radar. Every team except the Spurs that is.

Parker, a future Hall of Famer, came into the league and was productive immediately. He averaged 9 points, 4 assists, and 1.2 steals in his rookie season and then followed that up by averaging 15.5 points and 5.3 assists in his sophomore season.

The already loaded Spurs got the steal of the draft once again, while the Celtics fumbled every pick they had. Instead of ending up with Joe Johnson, Zach Randolph, and Tony Parker the Celtics settled for Tony Delk, Kendrick Brown, and Jospeh Forte.

Let that soak in for a minute..

Now let’s think about the fact that in the 2001-02 season the Celtics made the Eastern Conference Finals with a starting 5 of Kenny Anderson, Paul Pierce, Eric Williams, Antoine Walker, and Tony Battie.

Pierce averaged over 26 points per game that season, while Walker chipped in 22 points per game. Quite the scoring punch there if you ask me. But outside of those two there was a serious drop off in talent. The C’s didn’t have a point guard that could stop Jason Kidd in the conference finals, and they didn’t have a significant presence down low. While Tony Battie was an above average defender, he didn’t make a significant difference on the offensive side of the ball.

Had the Celtics taken Tony Parker, along with the likes of Zach Randolph they may have been able to compete for a championship right away and for years to follow.

Next: Second Mistake in the 97' Draft

Home/Boston Celtics