Todd Fuller: Honorable Mention (NBA)

WHO YA GOT?

Synopsis: In the 1996 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Todd Fuller with the 11th overall pick. Despite being a lottery selection, Fuller didn’t live up to expectations. Of note, he finished his NBA career with 835 points and 674 rebounds. Even worse, the Warriors selected him over future Hall-of-Famers Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. As such, Fuller should be remembered as one of the all-time worst draft picks. Still, the former 1st Team All-ACC honoree shouldn’t be considered a Top 10 Bust. In particular, he just wasn’t drafted high enough to warrant the “honor.”

TODD FULLER: T10B HONORABLE MENTION (NBA)

Despite having a noteworthy college career at NC State, Todd Fuller failed to deliver as an NBA player. Still, he continues to be a memorable draft pick. Specifically, he went before future All-Stars Peja Stojakovic and Jermaine O’Neal. More noteworthy, he went before future Hall-of-Famers Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash as well. Based on this fact alone, I consider Fuller the 5th worst draft pick in NBA history. Regardless, I still don’t consider him worthy of being declared a Top 10 Bust.

As the following table shows, Fuller deserved to be drafted as a lottery pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.

TODD FULLER – CAREER STATS AT NC STATE

		Shooting %		Per Game Averages
Season	Games	FG	FT	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals	Points
1992-93	27	45.7%	77.3%	3.6	0.2	0.3	0.0	5.2
1993-94	30	48.2%	75.3%	8.4	1.1	1.3	0.4	11.8
1994-95	27	51.9%	84.1%	8.5	1.3	1.7	0.3	16.4
1995-96	31	50.6%	79.9%	9.9	1.3	1.8	0.3	20.9
Career	115	49.8%	80.0%	7.7	1.0	1.3	0.3	13.8

Fuller steadily improved each season and finished his senior year as a 20 & 10 player. In recognition of this production, he earned 1st Team All-ACC status. As a 6’11” center who could shoot well and defend, he deserved to be a top overall draft pick. Furthermore, Fuller seemed to have the body to play down low.

Todd Fuller at NC State — Already jacked

Despite Fuller’s success in college, he didn’t live up to expectations while playing for four different teams during his 5-year NBA career. He didn’t deserve to be around that long given his lackluster production. Then again, his size and prior success apparently earned him 2nd, 3rd and 4th looks.

TODD FULLER – NBA CAREER STATS

			Shooting %		Per Game Averages
Season	Team	Games	FG	FT	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals	Points
1996-97	GSW	75	42.9%	69.1%	3.3	0.3	0.1	0.3	4.1
1997-98	GSW	57	42.0%	68.8%	3.4	0.2	0.1	0.3	4.0
1998-99	UTA	42	45.2%	60.0%	2.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	3.4
1999-00	CHH	41	41.8%	60.4%	2.7	0.1	0.2	0.2	3.3
2000-01	MIA	10	28.6%	100.0%	1.8	0.1	0.3	0.2	2.8
Career		225	42.2%	66.8%	3.0	0.2	0.2	0.3	3.7

Fuller averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks per game as a senior in college. However, he only averaged four points and three rebounds per game primarily coming off the bench during his NBA career. As an undersized big man, he just couldn’t compete at the next level.

GOOD LUCK TODD

Todd Fuller against Shaq — Apparently, not jacked enough

In absolute and relative terms, Fuller had a unproductive NBA career.

1996 NBA DRAFT: NOTABLE PLAYERS

Draft Pick	Team	Player	Position	Games	Points	Rebounds	Assists	PPG	RPG	APG	Win Shares
#1	PHI	Allen Iverson	PG	914	24,368	3,394	5,624	26.7	3.7	6.2	99.0
#2	TOR	Marcus Camby	C	973	9,262	9,513	1,837	9.5	9.8	1.9	81.6
#3	VAN	Shareef Abdur-Rahim	SF	830	15,028	6,239	2,109	18.1	7.5	2.5	71.2
#4	MIL	Stephon Marbury	PG	846	16,297	2,516	6,471	19.3	3.0	7.6	77.5
#5	MIN	Ray Allen	SG	1,300	24,505	5,272	4,361	18.9	4.1	3.4	145.1
#6	BOS	Antoine Walker	PF	893	15,647	6,891	3,170	17.5	7.7	3.5	38.1
#7	LAC	Lorenzen Wright	C	778	6,191	4,943	622	8.0	6.4	0.8	30.5
#8	NJN	Kerry Kittles	SG	507	7,165	1,983	1,295	14.1	3.9	2.6	44.8
#9	DAL	Samaki Walker	PF	445	2,376	2,089	252	5.3	4.7	0.6	14.2
#10	IND	Erick Dampier	C	987	7,309	7,005	817	7.4	7.1	0.8	52.7
#11	GSW	Todd Fuller	C	225	835	674	46	3.7	3.0	0.2	2.2
#13	CHH	Kobe Bryant	SG	1,255	31,973	6,653	5,963	25.5	5.3	4.8	173.0
#14	SAC	Peja Stojakovic	SG	804	13,647	3,782	1,408	17.0	4.7	1.8	82.6
#15	PHO	Steve Nash	PG	1,217	17,387	3,642	10,335	14.3	3.0	8.5	129.7
#17	POR	Jermaine O’Neal	PF	1,011	13,309	7,261	1,369	13.2	7.2	1.4	66.0
#20	CLE	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	C	843	10,976	6,191	955	13.0	7.3	1.1	66.3
#24	LAL	Derek Fisher	PG	1,287	10,713	2,658	3,804	8.3	2.1	3.0	62.3

TODD FULLER: WORTHY #11 PICK?

No excuses need to be made for Fuller’s lack of production. However, it deserves mention that three other centers went with top 10 overall picks. In comparison, only one center (Bryant Reeves) went in the top 10 one year earlier, and only two centers (Tony Battie and Adonal Foyle) went that high in the next draft. Assuming Fuller fell to a 16th-20th pick (as typical for the 4th center in a draft), his NBA career would have come and gone without much fanfare.

Perhaps, Golden State took Fuller because of need instead of talent. If the front offices of Portland or Detroit drafted players based on talent instead of need, they might have avoided the two biggest all-time NBA Draft blunders. Specifically, Portland took Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan in 1984, and Detroit took Darko Milicic instead of Carmelo Anthony in 2003. Coming directly from high school to the NBA, Kobe understandably fell outside of the top five. Still, at least six other teams (besides the Warriors) made a big mistake.

TOP THREE NBA DRAFTS

Based on its four likely Hall of Famers (#1 Allen Iverson, #5 Ray Allen, #13 Kobe Bryant, and #15 Steve Nash), the 1996 Draft deserves consideration as one of the best three drafts in NBA history. So far, only the 1984 Draft has four actual Hall of Famers (#1 Hakeem Olajuwon, #3 Michael Jordan, #5 Charles Barkley, and #16 John Stockton). The 2003 Draft also deserves consideration as an elite draft because of its four potential Hall of Famers (#1 LeBron James, #3 Carmelo Anthony, #4 Chris Bosh, #5 Dwyane Wade).

As a quick aside, the following table shows my ranking of these three draft classes.

Draft Ranking	Best Player	2^nd Best Player	3^rd Best Player	4^th Best Player
#1 – 1984	Michael Jordan	Hakeem Olajuwon	Charles Barkley	John Stockton
#2 – 1996	Kobe Bryant	Allen Iverson	Steve Nash	Ray Allen
#3 – 2003	LeBron James	Dwyane Wade	Carmelo Anthony	Chris Bosh

Ultimately, the 2003 Draft class should eclipse the 1996 Draft class (assuming LeBron gets at least one more title), but not the 1984 Draft class (unless Melo also wins a championship).

[Within three months of this post, LeBron led the Cavs to the 2016 NBA Championship. Based on my previous comment, his draft now eclipses the 1996 Draft to move into the 2nd best of all-time. By leading a Cleveland team to the city’s first professional sports title in over 50 years, “The King” earns bonus points. As of now, the top four players from the 2003 Draft have won eight rings. That total equals the total from the top four players from the 1984 Draft. Regardless, there’s still a gap. At least, LeBron et al still have time on their side.]

CONCLUSION

Taken outside of the first ten overall picks, Fuller “earned” an exemption from being declared a Top 10 Bust. For support of my rationale, click on the following link regarding the The Acie Law. Regardless, Fuller disappointed enough to earn a T10B Honorable Mention.

While the circumstances aren’t ideal, Fuller won’t be forgotten any time soon. Overall, he was a great college player and high draft pick who couldn’t cut it in the NBA. Well, at least he got there.