NBA 2002 Draft: A Look Back at the Memorable Moments

The year was 2002, and the NBA was on the cusp of a new era. The league had just expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Charlotte Bobcats, and the excitement was palpable. As the season.html">offseason drew to a close, the anticipation turned to speculation as teams began to make their picks in the 2002 NBA draft.

The first overall pick belonged to the Washington Wizards, who selected Kwame Brown, a talented but tumultuous big man from Glynn Academy in Georgia. Brown''s selection marked the first time an American high school player had been taken number one overall since lebron.html">LeBron james.html">James three years prior.

The Miami Heat, rebuilding after their playoff run the previous season, used their second pick to select Shane Battier, a versatile forward out of Duke University. Battier would go on to have a successful 14-year career in the league, earning praise for his clutch shooting and tenacious defense.

In a surprise move, the Boston celtics.html">Celtics traded away their first-round picks in both 2002 and 2003 to move up and select Jay Williams, a talented but injury-prone point guard from Duke University. Williams'' selection was seen as a risk-reward proposition, with some questioning whether he was worth the cost.

The draft also saw the emergence of international talent, as the Toronto Raptors selected center Greg Ostertag, a 7-foot-1 German import from the University of Illinois. Ostertag''s selection marked the beginning of a new era of European players entering the league.

In retrospect, the 2002 NBA draft was a memorable one, filled with highs and lows. While some picks panned out as expected, others left teams wondering what could have been. Nonetheless, it remains an important chapter in the history of the NBA, setting the stage for the decade that followed.