After a questionable expansion draft, the Toronto Raptors really needed a home-run with their first round pick of the 1995 draft. They got exactly that.
Damon Stoudamire is not a hall-of-famer, he was never even an all-star, but considering their other options available with the seventh overall pick , Isiah Thomas absolutely nailed this one. (Yes, before running the Knicks into the ground, Isiah first took over the expansion Raptors)
The first seven picks of the draft went:
- Joe Smith – Good player, disappointing as the first pick
- Antonio McDyess – Great player
- Jerry Stackhouse – Great player
- Rasheed Wallace – Great player
- Kevin Garnett – All-time great player
- Bryant Reeves – good player short career
- Damon Stoudamire – good player
If Toronto was able to sneak into the top five of the draft somehow, they could have selected a franchise-changing player.