{"id":873307,"date":"2026-11-01T11:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T11:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/873307\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T11:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T11:18:23","slug":"lebron-durant-headline-nba-draft-classes-of-the-early-2000s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/873307\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron, Durant headline NBA draft classes of the early 2000s"},"content":{"rendered":"


LeBron James<\/a> is in a class of his own across many statistical categories in the league.<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> forward has played the most seasons in NBA history (24 and counting). He boasts the most points and games played in the regular season (43,489, 1,625) and playoffs (8,521, 302). His 22 NBA All-Star appearances are the highest total of any player. Therefore, it’s no secret that James, who faces the Indiana Pacers<\/a> on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET on ESPN), is the last remaining player from his draft class — 23 years ago.<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> selected James at No. 1 in 2003. He has since stood the test of time and then some. Of the top five players taken in that draft, the closest player to James’ career length is Carmelo Anthony, who retired in May 2023 — the same year James competed in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

With Kyle Lowry retiring in the offseason<\/a>, the league’s remaining active players from drafts of the early 2000s are dwindling. Lowry was the last one left from a 2006 draft that included Rajon Rondo, Lamarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay and current Lakers head coach JJ Redick.<\/p>\n

With Chris Paul’s retirement in February, no one is left from the 2005 class. Aside from LeBron, there are no active players left from the 2000-2004 classes, either.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the players who remain from the 2007 to 2010 classes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Year:<\/p>\n

2007<\/p>\n

Players:<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant<\/a> (No. 2), Al Horford<\/a> (No. 3), Mike Conley<\/a> (No. 4)<\/p>\n

All active players from this class are top-five picks. Two of the three are champions and made at least five All-Star appearances: Durant (16) and Horford (5).<\/p>\n

Durant’s longevity stands out in this group. He averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the 2025-26 season, earning All-Star honors and making the All-NBA second team. Durant also played 78 games, his most since the 2018-19 campaign.<\/p>\n

Jeff Green, selected at No. 5 in 2007, finished his 20th NBA season last year while playing for the Houston Rockets<\/a>. He remains a free agent, and has not made any retirement announcement.<\/p>\n

Year:<\/p>\n

2008<\/p>\n

Players:<\/p>\n

Brook Lopez<\/a> (No. 10),DeAndre Jordan<\/a> (No. 35)<\/p>\n

The 2008 class is hanging on with two big men still contributing. The LA Clippers<\/a> picked up Lopez’s option in June after he played75 games and averaged 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds last season. Jordan returned to the New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> after being named theTwyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year<\/a>. He appeared in just 12 games last year.<\/p>\n

However, this class lost some headliners in the offseason.<\/p>\n

Russell Westbrook (No. 4) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25) each announced their retirements. Westbrook was the group’s leader in minutes, games, points and assists and is bound for the Hall of Fame<\/a>. Batum was one of the NBA’s best role players<\/a>. Kevin Love (No. 5) and Eric Gordon (No. 7) are still free agents and their careers remain up in the air.<\/p>\n

Year:<\/p>\n

2009<\/p>\n

Players: <\/p>\n

James Harden<\/a> (No. 3), Stephen Curry<\/a> (No. 7), DeMar DeRozan<\/a> (No. 9), Jrue Holiday<\/a> (No. 17)<\/p>\n

The final draft of the aughts brings no shortage of still-relevant star power.<\/p>\n

Last season, Harden and Curry each had 40-point games on Nov. 14, marking the second time in NBA history in which that day’s two highest-scoring players were at least 35 years old, according to ESPN Research. Just over a week later, Harden had 55 points to set the Clippers’ single-game scoring record. He also holds the Rockets’ single-game scoring record, making him the first playerin NBA history to hold that mark for two teams simultaneously, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.<\/p>\n

Harden has 29,386 career points, while DeRozan has 26,757, Curry 26,599 and Holiday 17,329. The quartet has a combined 30 NBA All-Star appearances, including 12 for Curry and 11 for Harden.<\/p>\n

Year:<\/p>\n

2010<\/p>\n

Players:<\/p>\n

Paul George<\/a> (No. 10)<\/p>\n

In a draft that was headlined by big names including John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, George has held on the longest. Gordon Hayward played in the 2023-24 season before retiring. Wall, the No. 1 pick in 2010, retired in the 2025 offseason after not playing since January 2023, ensuring George’s status as the last man standing from the 2010 class.<\/p>\n

George has 31,776 career minutes and 19,427 points, both the highest of any player drafted that year. A nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA player, George is now with theBoston Celtics<\/a>after being part of the blockbuster Jaylen Brown<\/a> trade in July.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

]<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LeBron James is in a class of his own across many statistical categories in the league. The Philadelphia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[102195,7,75,21340,130,24613,194,2799,6,12,207],"class_list":["post-873307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba-draft","tag-102195","tag-basketball","tag-boston-celtics","tag-durant-kevin","tag-espn","tag-george-paul","tag-houston-rockets","tag-james-lebron","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-philadelphia-76ers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117540913809225880","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}