It’s the nature of the sports world to immediately assess each draft, and here was the morning-after take by SI.com on the 1999 NBA draft.  

But after 10 years, were all the allusions just a parade?  Taking a new look at the 1999 draft, there is a phrase that might be familiar to Jay-Z: I got problems, but the ’99 draft ain’t one.  

It would be basketball blaspheme to equate the 1999 class with 1984, which featured four future Hall of Famers - Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and John Stockton.  

The class of 1985 produced three Hall of Famers in Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Joe Dumars. The 1996 draft has four Hall-worthy candidates in Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.  And you can probably book three spots in Springfield for 2003 draft classmates LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. 

Although the 1999 draft may not produce a Hall member, the class should be considered one of the best in many respects.  What sticks out the most is how productive the players selected in the top 10 have been. Only Jonathan Bender did not have an impact, and seven are still going very strong. 

While the class has no legendary superstars, it has been talented enough to produce nine All-Stars, which is only surpassed by the 10 from the 1996 draft. Six reside in the top 10, which may make it the top 10 of any draft.  

The 1999 draft was initially notable for one school - Duke - producing four first-round selections for the first time, including top overall pick Elton Brand. Like the class itself, Brand can be described as highly efficient but lacking that "it."  

The co-Rookie of the Year with second pick Steve Francis, Brand could not believe it already has been 10 years since David Stern called his name. 

"It’s been a decade and it absolutely went by in a flash but there is a bond among us," he told PBN. "We are competitive but we root for each other as well." 

When reminded about Francis, Brand sank a little. "Stevie Franchise" was a candidate for superstardom with three consecutive early All-Star berths with the Houston Rockets but battled ailments and expectations and is out of the league. 

Davis went third to the Charlotte Hornets, who beat the Clippers to the Los Angeles native and UCLA alumnus. Nine years later, the Clippers - after drafting Odom and watching him leave via free agency after three years - finally got Davis as a free agent. 

Bender never really produced at the NBA level, joining a talented Indiana team right out of high school. Donnie Walsh, the Pacers GM at the time, envisioned the 6-10 beanpole as a 2-3-4 hybrid - think Tracy McGrady or Kevin Durant - but chronic knee problems forced him into early retirement. 

And if Bender is the worst pick among the top 10, his lack of success pales in comparison to other high picks in most drafts. 

All drafts have selections that make you say "WTF?" such as Adam Morrison (3rd) and Shelden Williams (5th) in 2006 or Darko Milicic (2nd) from 2003.  Even the vaunted 1984 draft had "Dinner Bell" Mel Turpin, the overweight center from Kentucky who went sixth to Washington, and Cal-State Fullerton point guard Leon Wood, who went 10th to Philadelphia and has had a better career as a referee than as a player. 

I guess the adage "Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach" applies in the NBA as well. 

The rest of 1999's top 10 are some of the most well-rounded and smartest players of this era. Szczerbiak was a classic spot-up shooter whose biggest flaw may have been that he didn’t shoot enough, considering his field-goal percentage. Hamilton perennially grades out as one of the best off-the-ball players in the NBA, relentlessly moving around an array of picks to release one of the game's best mid-range jump shots.  

Miller has yet to make an All-Star Game but has won an assists title and has produced everywhere he has played; he may be playing his best ball now. Although Marion's acrobatics may have tailed off a bit, he still plays at an elite level.   

And selected right behind Marion was Terry, his current teammate in Dallas who won the Sixth Man Award last season. 

There's terrific quality outside of the top 10 as well. The 16th pick was Ron Artest, who has had a reunion of sorts with Odom in LA, having played together as kids in Queens. The 24th pick was Andrei Kirilenko, a former fantasy stud who invented the "5 x 5" and still a solid two-way player. 

And the penultimate pick was Manu Ginobili, who has two Euroleague MVPs, an All-Star berth, an Olympic gold medal and three NBA championship rings. 

Maybe the 1999 draft will have a Hall of Famer after all. Ten years later, it looks better than ever.

Martin Sumners, a frequent contributor to ProBasketballNews, has written for NBA.com and various other publications. He can be reached at sumners13@yahoo.com.