Flashback: The Top 5 Picks of the 1997 NBA Draft

The top of the 1997 NBA Draft covers a lot of ground. Everything from a perennial All-NBA performer to a career journeyman was represented in the first five picks alone. The draft started with no surprise. The San Antonio Spurs, fresh off a season in which they were forced to play without franchise player David Robinson for the bulk of the year, got lucky and won the rights to select Wake Forest star-in-the-making Tim Duncan.

Not since Shaquille O'Neal was selected five years earlier had the top pick been such a sure thing. Duncan did not disappoint. Along with Robinson, Duncan led the Spurs an NBA Championship in just his second season. Since then, Duncan has catapulted the franchise into perpetual contender status, winning three titles and going for a fourth this spring. One of the steadiest performers in league history, Duncan may go down as the best power forward of all time.

With the second pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected forward Keith Van Horn from Utah. The pick was subsequently traded to the New Jersey Nets, where Van Horn would become a steady mid-teens scorer for the next five years. Van Horn left Utah as possibly the best Ute of all time, with NCAA Tournament buzzer-beaters and incredible scoring barrages to back up the claim.

Hopes were very high for his career. Unfortunately, Van Horn was a much better college performer than he could ever be in the NBA. His game was simply suited for the college game. With that being said, Keith Van Horn provided reasonably solid play for a number of teams throughout his career. Solid, but never spectacular. After playing for the Dallas Mavericks in his final three seasons, Van Horn is currently out of the league.