So what are the best NBA draft of the decade? Looking over it, I think the answer for #1 is obvious. After that, it's tough because you have to weigh the potential of the later drafts versus the production of the earlier ones. There are some tough choices and, honestly, I'm not completely committed to some of my rankings but for now (since, you know, I'm supposed to be working right now) I'll throw out this list.

#1. 2003: In almost a perfect mix for a draft, 2003 was top heavy with Hall of Fame talents (LeBron, Wade, 'Melo, Bosh) and had one absolute bust in the middle (Darko). The draft definitely had a bit of a hiccup in the late lotto/mid first but it came back strong with Josh Howard, Kendrick Perkins, and Leandro Barbosa at the end of the first and then even has an All-Star out of the second round (Mo Williams) along with some other guys who have hung around the league. Nevermind this decade, 2003 might be one of the best drafts ever.

#2. 2009: Obviously, it's early but this is looking like one of the best PG drafts ever, a very deep draft, and we still haven't seen two of the top prospects play (Blake Griffin and Ricky Rubio). Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans are legit threats for All-Star consideration as rookies and a number of other players are showing signs that they could, at the very worst, be key role players for winning teams. Also, the draft has shown some amazing depth with a number of 2nd rounders, led by Dajuan Blair, Jonas Jerebko, Marcus Thornton, and Chase Buddinger, looking like they'll be in the league for years to come. Granted, a lot of this ranking is based on potential and some of these guys could crap out but right now, the 2009 draft is looking like the second best draft of the decade.

#3. 2001: The year the high schoolers took over turned out to be a disappointing draft for teams with lotto picks but a night of nice finds for teams in the end of the first round. Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas, picks #28 and 31, outshined most everyone in the lottery except for maybe Pau Gasol and Joe Johnson. Richard Jefferson wasn't too shabby and Shane Battier's been a nice role player but this draft seemed to be lacking in Grade A superstars and the lotto was packed with too many busts to really challenge for the top spot.

#4. 2008: Debating between this draft and 2004 is tough, especially since I don't think this draft has anyone at the level of Dwight Howard. Still, I like the overall talent of this draft better. Rose, Mayo, Westbrook, Love, and Lopez look like they all could fight for All-Star spots in the near future (followed closely behind by Gordon and Beasley) while a lot of the projects (Speights, Randolph, Hibbert, Batum) seem to be closer to flourishing than falling out of the league. This is an interesting group to watch and right now, I'd rather bet on the promise of the Class of 2008 over the progress of 2004's players.

#5. 2004: Dwight Howard shined head and shoulders above the rest of this draft. Still, there are a lot of good names in here although I think most of them haven't been able to pull themselves together. Josh Smith looks like he might finally be breaking through but others like Al Jefferson, Kevin Martin, Luol Deng just don't seem to be able to put it all together. Still, they are legit talents and the emergence of Trevor Ariza helps salvage one of the weakest 2nd rounds of the decade. It was a tough call between this draft and 2001 but until some of the other players can break out of the Good Players on Bad Teams category, it's hard to give this class more credit.

#6. 2005: The final year for high schoolers is an underwhelming draft that is saved from being terrible by the emergence of late first round picks like David Lee, Monta Ellis, and Lou Williams. Obviously, this draft is anchored by Chris Paul and Deron Williams with Danny Granger adding to its All-Star resume and the Andrew's (Bynum and Bogut) starting to look like legit All-Star caliber centers. The lack of depth keeps this draft near the bottom of the list but it has too much top line talent to be considered the worst.

#7. 2007: Greg Oden and Brandan Wright can't stay healthy but Kevin Durant and Al Horford can carry this draft while those to heal. Most of the lottery has panned out to be at least servicable players and the later draft produced some solid talent (Rudy Fernandez, Wilson Chandler, Marc Gasol). '07 has some decent young talent but until these guys start showing more than just potential, it's hard to rank them any higher. I doubt that these guys will bottom out enough to fall behind the 2002 draft but, as of now, this is a year with limited depth and not enough top flight talent.

#8. 2002: This draft was ravaged by injuries to Jay Williams, Dajuan Wagner and even Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire haven't been the healthiest of pros but that doesn't excuse this year for being void of talent. This draft is filled with names that completely dropped off the map (Marcus Haislip, Ryan Humphrey). Still, Yao, Amare, Caron Butler, and Carlos Boozer save it from being the worst draft of the decade.

#9. 2006: I always considered 2002 to be the second worst draft of the decade but looking at 2006, it's no contest. Brandon Roy is a star and Rajon Rondo is becoming one but after that, what is there? A soft 7 foot shooter in LaMarcus Aldridge? Rudy Gay is finally stepping up his game but he has a ways to go to be a legit first option and who knows if he'll keep it up once he gets his new contract. Paul Millsap is one of the few second rounders who have shown much of anything. Not only is this a bad draft but there doesn't seem like there's much hope in the horizon (unless Andrea Bargnani learns how to play defense or Ty Thomas learns how to play basketball). From top to bottom, just a terrible draft.

#10. 2000: When Kenyon Martin is the #1 pick and you could make an argument that that wasn't that bad of a choice, you know that you've had a weak draft. The best player in the draft went #43 (Michael Redd) and while a number of the players have come on of late (Hedo, Jamal Crawford), this is still an abysmal draft. When one of the highlights of a draft is Jamaal Magloire, you've had a bad year.