NBA: Top 5 biggest what-if draft selections from the 1990s

4. 1993 — Penny Hardaway to the Philadelphia 76ers

The 1990s were an underwhelming decade for the 76ers in their franchise history. They failed to make a single appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since the team lacked that star player who could consistently push them to challenge for a playoff spot.

But the fan base did have some hope early on in the decade with multiple high draft picks, including in 1993 with the second overall pick. Chris Webber from Michigan was the clear favorite to go first overall to the Orlando Magic while the rest of the top 10 seemed up for grabs.

The 76ers had several durable scoring guards and forwards on the roster, such as Jeff Hornacek and Clarence Weatherspoon. Thus, they decided to take the 7’6” center Shawn Bradley. With Weatherspoon and Hornacek providing range scoring and Bradley in the low-post, the 76ers had high hopes that they could build a winning team with this trio. Or so they hoped.

Bradley never lived up to the initial expectations of being a ball-dominant center. He only played in three seasons with the 76ers before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in 1995.

In retrospect, the 76ers surely would have been much better off with the versatile Penny Hardaway. The Golden State Warriors took him with the third overall pick in the draft before subsequently trading him later in the day to the Orlando Magic for top pick Webber.

Former 76ers General Manager Jim Lynam later admitted that the team was not completely sold on Hardaway before the draft.

“Hindsight being 20/20, I would say that we probably could’ve done a better job in terms of due diligence on Penny Hardaway,” Lynam said. “Obviously, we were aware of him. We knew he was a top player, but I’ll speak for myself and say I didn’t realize the caliber player he was.”

Had the 76ers taken Hardaway, he would have then become the main offensive facilitator on the team. Maybe with Hardaway being that highlight-filled player that they longed for, the 76ers likely would have gone out of their ways to acquire a second star to team up with him. And with the team in clear playoff contention, they certainly do not end up with Allen Iverson in the 1996 NBA Draft.