Five Rookies I Hope Are in the 2005–06 ‘Run It Back’ Set
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past week, you’ve undoubtedly heard the incredible news that NBA Top Shot will be running it back once again, this time to the 2005–06 NBA season.
There are still a ton of details to be released about these rare throwback packs, such as mint count and who will actually be featured in the set — Dwyane Wade has been confirmed, but that’s it so far — so all we can really do at this point is speculate and dream.
The 2005–06 season was a truly special one, featuring unforgettable performances like Kobe’s 81 point game (which is undoubtedly a long-shot to actually be in this set, for a variety of reasons), and culminating in Wade and Shaq leading the Miami Heat to their first-ever title.
Could this mean that Shaq will make his Top Shot Debut? Perhaps. There’ll surely be a bunch of NBA legends making their way onto the Flow Blockchain for the first time in this drop.
Even more likely is another Steve Nash Moment, as this was the second of his back-to-back MVP seasons, along with some other NBA stars returning to Top Shot in the jerseys fans are more accustomed to seeing them in (Paul Pierce in Boston and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota come to mind).
If you’ve been following me long enough, though, you know my main interest (other than whatever is happening inside Brad Stevens’ office) lies with rookies. The first thing I did upon hearing that the new Run It Back set would be from the 2005–06 season was to head to the Basketball Reference page for the 2005 NBA Draft to try to figure out just which rookies we may see in this drop.
As you can see if you click on that link, it was not necessarily a banner year for rookies, especially compared with the unbelievable draft that preceded it by two years, but there are certainly some rookies worth looking out for, highlighted of course by future Hall of Famer Chris Paul.
Below I’m going to talk about five rookies that I’m hoping make it into this set. This is a completely subjective list curated to my own personal desires, so if your favorite player or team isn’t mentioned, I do not apologize.
Go yell at me on Twitter if you must.
*indicates TS Debut
Honorable Mentions:
Monta Ellis*, Channing Frye*, Andrew Bogut, Danny Granger, Nate Robinson*, Marvin Williams*
#5: Ryan Gomes, Boston Celtics (Round 2, Pick 50)*
Did you really think I’d start this list out with anyone else? Not just a Celtics draft pick, Gomes is also a local legend in Rhode Island — where I come from originally — as a result of his illustrious career with Providence College.
Gomes had a sneakily respectable career despite falling deep into the second round. He cracked the Celtics starting rotation as a rookie and made 2nd-team All-Rookie. After the 2006–07 season, he was shipped out to Minnesota as part of the deal that brought KG to Boston, and went on to have three more solid seasons starting for the Wolves before his career quickly fizzled out with the Clippers.
A Ryan Gomes Moment would be a dream come true for me; he’s right up there with Tony Mitchell (who lived on the same floor as me in Mozart Square during our sophomore years at North Texas) on the official Otis Top Shot “list of obscure former NBA players no one else cares about”. I doubt he makes the cut into this set, but I’d be beyond thrilled if he did.
#4: David Lee, New York Knicks (Round 1, Pick 30)*
I promise that Packrip didn’t hold a gun to my head to force me to choose a Knick in my top five. David Lee really deserves a spot here after forging an extremely respectable career for himself that included two All-Star selections and a big role in Curry’s first title run with the Warriors in 2015.
Lee’s rookie season was unremarkable statistically, and he didn’t make either of the All-Rookie teams, but he showcased enough of his potential as the season went on for the Knicks to give him a much more significant role in the following seasons, and he never looked back.
Based off my interactions with Knicks fans on Twitter and elsewhere, I think they’d all be really happy to add a David Lee rookie Moment to their collections.
#3: Deron Williams, Utah Jazz (Round 1, Pick 30)*
This set has to include D-Will, right? For a five-year stretch from 2007–2012, Williams was unquestionably one of the best point guards in the NBA, averaging 19.5 points and 10.2 assists per game during that time.
I think people forget just how good he was at his peak because Father Time struck him so hard and so early, but D-Will is still a five time All-Star, and made 1st-team All-Rookie in 2005–06.
There’s really not much else to say. This set would be incomplete without him in it, and I think almost everyone would agree with that.
#2: Lou Williams, Philadelphia 76ers (Round 2, Pick 45)
Lou Williams! One of the most fun players of the generation that’s slowly making its way out of the league, Lou Will is another guy I think has to be in this set.
His rookie season was nothing special; at just 19 years-old, the 76ers didn’t give him a lot of playing time, and he averaged just 4.8 minutes per game across 30 appearances. But surely at least one of the 23 shots he made his first year in the league must have made for a good enough highlight to include in this set.
It would be really disappointing to me if Lou Williams didn’t make the cut.
#1: Chris Paul, New Orleans/OKC Hornets (Round 1, Pick 4)
I know, not exactly a shocking choice here, but what did you expect? CP3 is the one bona fide NBA legend in this rookie class, making 11 All-Star Games over an illustrious 16-year career (so far) that has seen him lead the league in steals 6 times and assists 4 times. He’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame the literal second he’s eligible.
Paul ran away with the Rookie of the Year award in 2005–06, putting together a superb season that was a mere glimpse of what was yet to come. There’s no doubt in my mind that CP3 will not only be in this Run It Back set, but also be one of the most sought after and expensive Moments on the Marketplace once the dust has settled from the drop.
