Imagine if the Philadelphia 76ers had actually selected the best player available with the 13th pick back in the 2006 NBA Draft.
Thanks to FanSided’s 2017 NBA re-draft, as well as, The Ringer’s Re-drafts (warning videos contain strong language) recently coming out, it feels like the right time to start re-drafting Philadelphia 76ers‘ former picks.
This won’t be the first time I’ve written on the subject. Back in the 2018 offseason, I wrote about how the Sixers failed to draft Michael Redd in 2000, Gilbert Arenas in 2001, Tayshaun Prince in 2002, Kyle Korver in 2003, and how they hit the mark in 2004 and 2005 with Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams respectively.
With that in mind, it’s time to look at how the 76ers did in the 2006 NBA Draft. Originally, Philly selected Thabo Sefolosha with the 13th pick, but then traded his draft rights to the Chicago Bulls for the 16th pick (Rodney Carney) and a 2007 second round pick.
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Sefolosha ended up being a defensive ace in the NBA for his career and is currently on the Houston Rockets. The 6-foot-6 wing has a career averages of 5.5 points and 1.1 steals. Carney only played three total (two straight to begin with) seasons in Philly and was out of the NBA in five seasons. For his career, he averaged 5.7 points and 2.0 rebounds.
While Sefolosha ended up being a solid defensive journeyman in the NBA, there were still several players selected after him that have proven to be better over time. Before getting into who the Sixers should have picked, here are some honorable mentions
- Rajon Rondo (21st pick)
- P.J. Tucker (35th pick)
- Paul Millsap (47th pick)
Quite an impressive list of honorable mentions. That means the player that the 76ers should have selected has to be very special and it’s none other than Philly native, Kyle Lowry. Lowry was originally drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 24th pick.
Despite being an NBA champion, six-time All-Star and making the third team All-NBA back in 2015-16 season, Lowry had a slow start to his career. It wasn’t until he was traded to the Houston Rocket did he start showing his true potential. For his career, Lowry has averaged 14.7 points, 6.2 assists, and 1.4 steals, while making 36.6 percent of his 3-pointers.
If the Sixers had drafted him instead of Sefolosha/Carney, then they would have had their heir apparent at point guard. The 2006-07 season was the year that the franchise traded Allen Iverson to the Denver Nuggets. Having Lowry learn under Andre Miller and Kevin Ollie would have been great for Lowry and the 76ers.
It’s clear now that the Philadelphia 76ers would have been better off if they would have drafted Lowry in 2006.