The NBA is heading into a new era of basketball, with the league seeing a drastic influx of international players that have flourished since entering the league, like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Victor Wembanyama is the latest international import to enter the league, and a lot of people have high hopes for the French phenom as he begins his NBA career under legendary head coach Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs.
As the league continues to bring in more international talent and is geared toward three-point shooting, the NBA is also seeing some of its iconic veterans call it a career, like Carmelo Anthony, who has officially retired.
Anthony is part of one of the best draft classes in NBA history, as he shared the spotlight with LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade in 2003, which was exactly 20 years ago today, according to ESPN.
The legendary 2003 NBA draft was 20 years ago today.
Best draft class ever? pic.twitter.com/xogMFvl57m
— ESPN (@espn) June 26, 2023
After 20 years, only James is left standing and still incredibly playing high-level basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers, coming off an appearance in the Western Conference Finals alongside fellow superstar Anthony Davis.
Anthony was James’ last running mate from the 2003 NBA Draft, with Wade and Bosh having been retired for a few years now.
In fact, Wade and Bosh are already in the Basketball Hall of Fame, with James and Anthony almost certainly following in their footsteps in the near future.
The real question moving forward is how much longer James can play in the league and when does he realistically envision retiring, even though he claims to be flirting with the idea this summer.
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