With the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors selected Andrea Bargnani out of Italy.
It was a decision that appeared clear at the time given Bargnani's potential and proven track record playing professional basketball overseas, but it may not have been the best choice in retrospect.
Toronto Raptors center Andrea Bargnani during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Bargnani was the clear top pick in the draft that year, but there were other players in his draft class that had a lot of potential going into the league.
The 2006 draft produced five All-Stars, one of whom was LaMarcus Aldridge , the number two overall pick that the Portland Trail Blazers moved up two spots to acquire. Brandon Roy , who was also traded to the Blazers on draft night, was the number six overall pick, and he became a three-time All-Star in his brief six-year career that was ended early due to injury.
Rajon Rondo , the number 21 overall pick, carved out a strong career that saw him reach the All-Star team four times from 2010 to 2013 with the Boston Celtics . Of course, the greatest Raptor ever, Kyle Lowry , was the No. 24 overall pick, and he made six All-Star teams with the Raptors from 2015 to 2020.
While Bargnani wasn't an All-Star, he still had a decent career in the league. In seven seasons with the Raptors, Bargnani averaged 15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Raptors hoped that he would be able to form a strong frontcourt duo with Chris Bosh , but that wasn't necessarily in the cards.
For someone who stands over seven feet tall, averaging less than five rebounds per game throughout his career makes it very difficult to succeed. He didn't have the hunger to crash the glass that other big men had in the NBA, which stunted his growth.
While he helped the Raptors reach the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, he never truly reached his full potential. His best season came during the 2010-11 campaign, when he averaged 21.4 points per game, but the team struggled, winning just 22 games during the year.
Bargnani had moments where he showed why he was considered a top pick, but he ultimately struggled to stay healthy after that 2010-11 season. He wasn't a product of winning basketball. He didn't make the players around him better, which ultimately limited him in his career. After the 2012-13 season, Bargnani was dealt to the New York Knicks in a trade that sent Toronto a 2016 first-round pick.
All wasn't lost as the 2016 first-round pick turned into Jakob Poeltl , who was a key piece dealt in the trade with the San Antonio Spurs in 2018 for Kawhi Leonard , who helped them win the 2019 NBA Finals.
Toronto Raptors forward-center Andrea Bargnani looks to pass against the Denver Nuggets | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
In theory, the Raptors made the wrong decision. If they had selected Aldridge, they might have had more success in the latter part of the 2000s. Aldridge played a position too similar to Chris Bosh, and it's possible that Toronto would have experienced the same fate once Bosh left for the Miami Heat .
Bargnani was the consensus top pick at the time, so any other choice the team would have made would have looked like a poor one. His potential as a seven-footer with 3-point range was unprecedented at the time, so the Raptors took a chance on the " next big thing " in the NBA.
"Everyone has strengths, weaknesses, etc.," Colangelo said on draft night to the Associated Press.
"But at the end of the day, it came down that we felt that Andrea Bargnani was really the best pick for the future of this organization going forward. It's not about today. It's about today and tomorrow and we think that Andrea is a player that's not only going to help us in the short run, but we think he's going to grow into a terrific star in this league."
However, Bargnani's defensive struggles and inability to crash the glass limited his potential in the league and made him an average player. He didn't have a bad career in the NBA as he lasted 10 years in the league, but given his status as a No. 1 overall pick, he could have been a lot stronger.
While it didn't work out for the Raptors, they have the 2006 draft class to thank, as it produced Lowry, who came on board in 2012. Lowry, along with 2009 first-round pick DeMar DeRozan , built a team that took Toronto to the top of the Eastern Conference. That ultimately led to them trading for Leonard in 2018, and that led to them hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2019.
Every small move in the NBA leads to the next, so it all worked out in the end for the Raptors.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/raptors/onsi as Looking Back at Raptors' Andrea Bargnani Decision 20 Years Later .
