NBA 2004 Redraft: Picking between high school and college champions

#6 Pick: Emeka Okafor (Originally: Josh Childress)

While he has slipped a little from his original draft position, Emeka Okafor is still a very deserving top draft choice. Atlanta needs a big man, as evidenced by the original choice of Josh Smith later in this draft.

Okafor was coming off a stellar college career for a University of Connecticut team that was loaded with future NBA talent. He was a decorated shot blocker and defensive player for UConn. In his final season in college he led the nation in blocks, won National Defensive Player of the Year, Co-Player of the Year, Most Outstanding Player in the NCCA tournament and the NCAA Championship.

While he never truly repeated this success at the next level, he was an exceptionally solid player. He posted 19 straight double-doubles in his rookie season and won the Rookie of the Year award. In Charlotte, he would average 14.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game over five seasons.

He would have fit the Josh Smith role well in future seasons and allowed for smarter decision making in the coming years. Where Atlanta passed on points guards like Chris Paul and Deron Williams to take Marvin Williams. Josh Childress was an interesting prospect and will undoubtedly come up later. But this is an easy swap.

With the seventh pick the 2004 NBA Redraft the Chicago Bulls select…