Cade Cunningham leads ‘deepest overall draft’ in years

Eighteen years ago, four players now in the Hall of Fame or likely heading there were taken with the first five picks in the NBA draft, a quintet of selections that would impact the league in the decades to come.

That evening has yet to be replicated. But Thursday night, history could be repeating itself at Barclays Center with a top of the draft that scouts, executives and analysts think could rival the selections of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. “I really believe that this is the deepest overall draft since I’ve been doing this [in 2003],” longtime ESPN draft and college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said over Zoom. “Look, having LeBron [James] in a draft was certainly better, Zion [Williamson] made it more interesting that year, but none of the drafts that I can remember since 2003 have combined power at the top and depth of really good talent like this.”