Pistons Draft Blunder Listed Among Biggest NBA "What Ifs"

Would the Pistons have still won a title if they drafted Carmelo Anthony?

Apr 29, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Former NBA forward Carmelo Anthony waves to the crowd during game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs between the against the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Looking back through history, every NBA franchise has its own share of what ifs. For the Detroit Pistons, the most notable one is the 2003 draft.

To this day, the '03 draft is widely regarded as one of the best in history. This largely has to do to the fact that LeBron James was the top pick, but there are plenty of other all-time talents scattered throughout the class.

Despite having the second overall pick in this draft, the Pistons didn't end up walking away with a high-level talent. Although things still managed to work out for them, it is still a situation the franchise wishes it had a do-over for.

Pistons not drafting Carmelo Anthony named among NBA's biggest what ifs

Aug 5, 2024; Paris, France; Former NBA player Carmelo Anthony looks on before the women’s 3x3 basketball gold medal game between Germany and Spain during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at La Concorde 1. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images | Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Now a quarter-century into the 2000's, the people at CBS Sports decided to look back at some of the biggest NBA what ifs from the last 25 years. Among the things mentioned was the Pistons opting to draft Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony.

At the very least, the Pistons, though it's certainly a reasonable argument that they still would've won a championship with Anthony, would've looked very different, as would the Nuggets, who landed Anthony, and eventually New York, which traded for him. A lot of teams and careers would've changed had Joe Dumars taken Anthony over Milicic.

As most know, Anthony would go on to become a superstar-level talent in the NBA. Meanwhile, Milicic bounced around the league for a decade and never came close to the expectations of being a No. 2 pick.

The Pistons don't dwell on this draft blunder too much, as they still had great success despite the big miss. A year later, Chauncey Billups and company managed to capture an NBA title and kept Detroit in a position to contend for years.

Given the unique makeup of this roster, there is no telling if the Pistons would have had the same success if they had taken Anthony over Milicic. Nearly twenty years removed from this draft, it remains as one of the biggest hypotheticals in franchise history.

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