1991-1995 Rookie Draft Peak Grades

1991:

Name Pos INS OUT HAN DEF REB
Darrell Armstrong PG C+ B B+ B C-
Dikembe Mutombo C C+ C- D A- A-
Greg Anthony PG C B C+ B D+
Isaac Austin C C+ C- C- C+ C+
John Crotty PG C B C C D+
Kenny Anderson PG C+ B B+ B- C-
Larry Johnson SF B C+ C- C+ C
Luc Longley C C+ C- C- C+ C+
Randy Brown PG C C C B+ C-
Rick Fox SF C+ B C B C
Robert Pack PG B- C+ B+ C+ D+
Stacey Augmon SF C+ C- C- B C
Steve Smith SG B- B C C+ C-
Terrell Brandon PG B- B- A B C-

1992:

Name Pos INS OUT HAN DEF REB
Alonzo Mourning C A- C- C- A- B
Bryant Stith SG C+ B- C- C+ C-
Christian Laettner PF B- C C- C C+
David Wesley PG C+ B B+ B- D+
Doug Christie SG C+ B C+ A- C-
Hubert Davis SG C B+ C C D+
Jim Jackson SF B- B- C C+ C
Jon Barry SG C B+ C B- C-
LaPhonso Ellis PF B C+ C- C+ C
Latrell Sprewell SF B C+ C+ C+ C-
Matt Geiger C C+ C D C C+
P.J. Brown PF B- C- D+ B- B-
Popeye Jones PF C+ C- D C B-
Robert Horry PF C+ B C- B- C
Shaquille O'Neal C A D+ C- B A-
Tom Gugliotta PF B+ C C C+ C+
Walt Williams SF C+ B+ C B- C-

1993:

Name Pos INS OUT HAN DEF REB
Aaron Williams PF C+ C- D C+ C+
Allan Houston SG B- B+ C C C-
Anfernee Hardaway SG B B- B- B C
Bo Outlaw PF C+ D+ C B C+
Bruce Bowen SF C+ B- C- A- C-
Bryon Russell SF C+ B C- B C
Chris Webber PF A- C C+ B- B-
Corie Blount PF C C- D C B-
Ervin Johnson C C D+ D- C+ B
George Lynch SF B- C C- B C+
Isaiah Rider SG B B C C+ C
Jamal Mashburn SF B+ B C+ C+ C
Lindsey Hunter PG C+ B C+ B C-
Nick Van Exel PG C+ B A- C C-
Rodney Rogers PF B- B C- C+ C
Sam Cassell PG C+ B B+ C+ C-
Scott Burrell SF C B C- B- C
Shawn Bradley C C C- D- C+ B-
Vin Baker C B+ C- C- C+ C+

1994:

Name Pos INS OUT HAN DEF REB
Aaron McKie SG C+ B C+ B C-
Brian Grant PF C+ C- D+ C+ B-
Charlie Ward PG C B B- B+ C-
Dickey Simpkins C C D+ D+ C C
Donyell Marshall PF B- C+ C- C+ B-
Eddie Jones SG B- B C B+ C-
Glenn Robinson SF B+ B- C C+ C
Grant Hill SF A- C B+ B+ C
Howard Eisley PG C B+ C+ C+ D+
Jalen Rose SG B- B- C+ C+ C-
Jason Kidd PG B- B- A A- C
Juwan Howard PF B+ C- C C C
Lawrence Funderburke PF C+ C- D C C+
Monty Williams SF C C C- B- C
Voshon Lenard SG C B+ C C C-

1995:

Name Pos INS OUT HAN DEF REB
Antonio McDyess PF B D+ C- B- B-
Bob Sura SG C+ B- C C+ C-
Brent Barry SG C+ B+ B- B- C-
Bryant Reeves C B C- D+ C C+
Corliss Williamson PF B- C- C- C C
Damon Stoudamire PG C+ B A- C C-
Eric Snow PG C+ C B+ B+ C-
Fred Hoiberg SG C B C C+ C-
Gary Trent PF B- D+ D+ C C+
Greg Ostertag C C D+ D- C+ B-
Jerry Stackhouse SF A- B- B- C+ C-
Joe Smith PF B C- D+ C+ C+
Kevin Garnett PF A- C C+ A- A-
Kurt Thomas PF B- C C- C+ B-
Michael Finley SF B+ B C B- C
Rasheed Wallace PF B B C- B C
Theo Ratliff C B- C- D+ B+ C+

Here are the estimated peak ratings for the league's foundational prospects. If there's anybody else from these drafts you're wanting to see, let me know. Once again, these are the estimated peak ratings for these prospects, not how they will come into the league. The ratings are here to be griped; not providing input won't make the league start any faster.

Pretty good looking bases. My only gripes would be Dice having b-/b- d/reb seems a bit weak but his build looks pretty nice overall. Same with Shaq, to see him with just B defense is a bit goofy but as I understand it these are estimated peaks that can vary but those 2 kinda stood out the most.

Looks good to me overall, nothing major sticks out being wrong.. Would agree on Dyess and Shaq, Dyess especially looks abit low, well pre injury McDyess anyway.

Couple of other small things I'd maybe upgrade, Steve Smith outside upto B+, Chris Webber rebounding seems a little low maybe up that to B or B+ even, Eddie Jones defense upto A- and Ostertag's defense is a little low.

Feb 11, 2022 10:28:30 GMT -5 will said:

Looks good to me overall, nothing major sticks out being wrong.. Would agree on Dyess and Shaq, Dyess especially looks abit low, well pre injury McDyess anyway.

Couple of other small things I'd maybe upgrade, Steve Smith outside upto B+, Chris Webber rebounding seems a little low maybe up that to B or B+ even, Eddie Jones defense upto A- and Ostertag's defense is a little low.

Agree with all the nitpicky stuff here, good looking out Will.

In the end, I believe some players will stick out as better than they should be and some worse as these are what they look like after some simulated TCs. So some of these raw looking or higher/lower than expected builds, it could be from lack of development or a lucky/unlucky TC. FWIW if these are the core players of the file, I don't think anyone can really complain.

Feb 10, 2022 23:48:02 GMT -5 raidernation said:

Pretty good looking bases. My only gripes would be Dice having b-/b- d/reb seems a bit weak but his build looks pretty nice overall. Same with Shaq, to see him with just B defense is a bit goofy but as I understand it these are estimated peaks that can vary but those 2 kinda stood out the most.

Feb 11, 2022 10:28:30 GMT -5 will said:

Looks good to me overall, nothing major sticks out being wrong.. Would agree on Dyess and Shaq, Dyess especially looks abit low, well pre injury McDyess anyway.

Couple of other small things I'd maybe upgrade, Steve Smith outside upto B+, Chris Webber rebounding seems a little low maybe up that to B or B+ even, Eddie Jones defense upto A- and Ostertag's defense is a little low.

Thanks for the comments.

- I bumped McDyess' rebounding up to a B, but I think B- defense is fine. He was never a particularly good defender until after his injury, which obviously isn't the version of him I'm trying to capture here. I also gave him a bit of an offensive boost as well, so his ratings now sit at B+ C- C- B- B.
- As for Shaq, I gave him a boost defensively and he's right on the cusp of a B+, but as of now I'm fine with him at a B. I know he had a few All-Defense appearances over the course of his career, but he also was incredibly limited in some facets as well.
- With Steve Smith, I disagree with a B+ outside. In the prime of his career, he was roughly only a 34% shooter from downtown. He had a few seasons in the 40's in the back end of his career, but the All-Star version of Steve Smith was not someone worthy of a B+ from outside, in my opinion.
- I upped Chris Webber's rebounding a tad, I think it sits at a B now.
- Eddie Jones' defense actually started at an A-, I had lowered it down but I'm fine bumping it back up to the A-. He'll be one of the best perimeter defenders among these players, no doubt.
- I upped Ostertag's defense from a C+ to a B- as well.

I also changed the following:
- Kurt Thomas' defense from C+ to B-
- Shaquille O'Neal's handle from C- to C
- Jalen Rose's defense from C+ to C

Keep the gripes coming!

Also changed Donyell Marshall to C+ B- D+ C+ B-, thanks to shellystrick4l for that gripe.

Looks good to me. My only gripe is Shawn Bradley’s defense looks too low. I know he’s known as just a shot blocker, but if you look at his defensive on/off numbers for his career his team consistently performed better on defense when he was on the court.

www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bradlsh01/on-off/1997

I want to say KG should be an A defender but with the way things are averaging out I don't think that's possible.
Same critique for Houston's outside rating, but it doesn't look like anyone is getting A- outside with the averages.
I think Webber should be higher than B- on defense but I might be misremembering.
Maybe bump Penny's defense too.

Kenny Anderson should have an equal grade to Mighty mouse in regards to handle. I would raise Larry Johnson's inside scoring to a B+. I'd lower Rick Fox's inside to a C. Terrell Brandon seems a tad high but nothing too crazy. Shaq should have a higher defensive grade. I don't believe he's an A but he's a solid B + imo.  Great job on Jimmy Jackson. I'd raise Penny's handle to a B. He's always been a plus passer with a solid handle. I might would lower Mash's inside scoring a bit. No way for Grant to be a B+ in handle and have that difference in grades between him and Penny.  I'd lower J Kidd's outside but he's on the money everywhere else. Sheed should be a B+ inside imo. I'd also raise Hoibergs outside to be at least the same as Brent Barry's rating. But solid job nonetheless..

Feb 12, 2022 11:33:26 GMT -5 kdogg said:

Looks good to me. My only gripe is Shawn Bradley’s defense looks too low. I know he’s known as just a shot blocker, but if you look at his defensive on/off numbers for his career his team consistently performed better on defense when he was on the court.

www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bradlsh01/on-off/1997

Upped him to a B. Worth noting that he has the highest peak Blocking rating in the file, but just has weaknesses (slow, lack of strength) that won't allow his letter grade to get much higher than that.

Feb 13, 2022 1:10:48 GMT -5 Teagz said:

I want to say KG should be an A defender but with the way things are averaging out I don't think that's possible.
Same critique for Houston's outside rating, but it doesn't look like anyone is getting A- outside with the averages.
I think Webber should be higher than B- on defense but I might be misremembering.
Maybe bump Penny's defense too.

- KG has incredible defensive ratings, I just don't think he has the shot blocking to get it all the way up to an A.
- Houston is one point away from an A- outside, so I'm not too worried about it. Like you said, they're also a bit lower across the board while inside ratings are a bit higher.
- Upped Webber's defense to a low B.
- I'm good with Penny's average peak defense at a B.

Thanks for the gripes!

Feb 13, 2022 14:25:17 GMT -5 tyo said:

Kenny Anderson should have an equal grade to Mighty mouse in regards to handle. I would raise Larry Johnson's inside scoring to a B+. I'd lower Rick Fox's inside to a C. Terrell Brandon seems a tad high but nothing too crazy. Shaq should have a higher defensive grade. I don't believe he's an A but he's a solid B + imo.  Great job on Jimmy Jackson. I'd raise Penny's handle to a B. He's always been a plus passer with a solid handle. I might would lower Mash's inside scoring a bit. No way for Grant to be a B+ in handle and have that difference in grades between him and Penny.  I'd lower J Kidd's outside but he's on the money everywhere else. Sheed should be a B+ inside imo. I'd also raise Hoibergs outside to be at least the same as Brent Barry's rating. But solid job nonetheless..

- Upped Kenny Anderson's handle grade to an A-
- Upped Larry Johnson's inside grade to a B+
- Going to leave Fox at C+ inside, he had a three-year stretch where he averaged 13.8 PPG in the mid-90's
- Upped Hardaway's handle ratings a bit but still sits at B-
- Lowered Mash's inside ratings a bit but still a B+
- Handling grade is almost solely driven by passing rating and I would definitely argue that Hill was a better passer than Penny in their primes
- Leaving Kidd at B- outside
- Leaving Sheed at B inside
- Upped Hoiberg's outside ratings but still sits at a B

Thanks for the gripes!

Also upped Bo Outlaw's defense from B to B+.

Upped Hardaway to B+ handling and lowered Grant Hill to B handling after further consideration.

Also lowered Terrell Brandon’s handle grade from A to A-.