Re-Drafting Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and the Legendary 1996 NBA Draft Class | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
William Burgess 21. New York Knicks: Shandon Anderson
That's 2006 NBA champion Shandon Anderson to you.
Though he never excelled at the offensive end, Anderson carved out a nice 10-year NBA career on the back of his wing defense. His teams would routinely throw him on the opposition's top perimeter alpha or sub him in during crunch time to try picking up extra stops.
The height of his offensive powers came with the Houston Rockets in 1999-00 when he averaged 12.3 points and 2.9 assists while putting down 52.3 percent of his twos and 35.1 percent of his threes.
22. Vancouver Grizzlies: Jeff McInnis
Jeff McInnis is built for the NBA's Disney World bubble. His NBA career was a roller coaster. He played for seven teams over the course of 11 seasons, during which time his role and minutes fluctuated from one stop to the next.
He hit his stride with not-good, not-terrible versions of the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 assists through 2000-01 and 2001-02 while draining a respectable 45.8 percent of his looks inside the arc as their starting point guard.
McInnis never found a role quite as prominent at any of his other stops and definitely didn't have the playmaking instincts to pilot an entire offense, but he added some microwave scoring off the bench in Cleveland and Portland—albeit not without some publicized drama.
23. Denver Nuggets: Othella Harrington
Save for a few standout blips here and there, Othella Harrington's career is most memorable for its longevity. He chiseled out a 12-year tenure after getting drafted with the first pick of the second round, endearing himself to teams with his defensive work ethic around the rim, a medium-sized bag of post moves and a certain slipperiness off the ball.
Toward the tail end of his career, Harrington expanded his in-between jumper to include more long twos, giving the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls what was, at the time, a genuine floor-spacer at the 4 and 5 spots.
24. Los Angeles Lakers: Walter McCarty
Walter McCarty's draft stock doesn't shift much with the benefit of hindsight. He drops from No. 19 to No. 24, and he might still have a case to leap-frog Harrington and McInnis.
McCarty never averaged double figures or cleared 30 minutes per game for a single season, but he became a staple of the Boston Celtics bench after getting traded from the Knicks in 1997. He was good for a few scoring detonations every season, attacked the rim with surety and had a knack for making the occasional—and electric—above-the-rim play.
25. Utah Jazz: Moochie Norris
Moochie Norris makes the jump from the second round (No. 33) into the first pretty handily. A career reserve, his skill set came together in an eclectic way.
Offenses could trust him to manage the second unit, but he also didn't play with an abundance of caution. If he wasn't on a permanent heat check, he was on the next closest thing. He didn't hesitate to put the screws to defenders in one-on-one situations and had zero qualms about launching contested jumpers.
This bizarre balance sort of worked, particularly during his time in Houston. Between 1999-00 and 2001-02, he was the only player who started fewer than 35 games to average more than 11 points and six assists per 36 minutes across multiple seasons while downing 45 percent of his twos.
26. Detroit Pistons: Adrian Griffin
After spending four years at Seton Hall, Adrian Griffin went undrafted in 1996. He didn't actually make his NBA debut until 1999-00.
Cracking the first round of a re-draft is a huge win for what got him to—and then kept him in—the league for nine seasons: excellent rebounding on the wings, understated passing and a try-hard mentality at the less glamorous end.
27. Orlando Magic: Vitaly Potapenko
Vitaly Potapenko is a name Clevelanders won't soon—read: ever—forget. The Cavs selected him at No. 12, just in front of names like Kobe Bryant (No. 13), Peja Stojakovic (No. 14), Steve Nash (No. 15) and Jermaine O'Neal (No. 17).
Just writing that hurts. It hurts even more knowing Cleveland would pick a better big man at No. 20 (Zydrunas Ilgauskas).
Anyway...Potapenko, who would later return to the Cavaliers as an assistant coach in 2013, eked out a solid 11-year career, the vast majority of which saw him contribute as a heavily used reserve. He never blossomed into anything resembling a household name, but he had a floor game and some range on the offensive end and cut his teeth jockeying for position and contesting entry passes on defense.
28. Atlanta Hawks: Samaki Walker
Samaki Walker went at No. 9 in the actual 1996 draft. We don't need to rehash what that meant for the Dallas Mavericks and who they missed out on. You already know.
Walker ended up typifying a journeyman's career.
After spending three years with the Mavericks, he suited up for five different teams over the next seven seasons. He could throw down some hammers at the rim and was an imposing presence around the basket for someone standing under 6'10", but with the exception of the 2001-02 campaign, which he spent on the Lakers, he struggled to sustain both playing time and a clean health bill.
29. Chicago Bulls: Erick Strickland
Give it up for our fourth undrafted name of this first-round do-over. Erick Strickland never matched the offensive pizzazz he showed during his final two seasons at Nebraska, but he was a rotation staple off the bench for almost his entire nine-year career.
His best season came in 1999-00, his last go-round with Dallas. He started 67 of the 68 games he played and averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals. Only one player matched his defensive rebounding, assist and steal rates that year. His name? Jason Kidd.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @danfavale.