Longtime Detroit Pistons Forward Reflects on 2003 NBA Draft

Tayshaun Prince shares thoughts on Pistons passing on Carmelo Anthony in '03 draft.

Mar 27, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince (22) drives to the basket against the Orlando Magic during the first half at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

When it comes to what ifs in Detroit Pistons history, the 2003 draft is one of the first things mentioned. Over two decades removed from the decision, one member from the team at the time shared his thoughts on the whole situation.

Earlier this week, longtime NBA forward Tayshaun Prince was a guest on the Knuckleheads podcast. When discussing his extended tenure with the Pistons, the '03 draft managed to come up.

To this day, the 2003 draft class is viewed as one of the best ever. It is headlined by names like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony. Detroit picked second in this draft, but didn't walk away with any of these three future Hall of Famers. Instead, they took a chance on international prospect Darko Milicic.

During his interview, Prince talked about the decision to draft Milicic over Anthony. He admitted that the decision caught the team off guard in the moment.

"If we took Melo, man, obviously we know what could have been," Prince said. "We bouta see this No. 2 pick and they said Darko, we was like oh okay, we was shook."

Milicic hung around the NBA for nearly a decade, but never lived up to the hype of bing a No. 2 pick. As for Anthony, he went on to have a long and successful career as a superstar forward.

Prince also stated that he felt he played a role in the Pistons to draft Milicic. Having been a first-round pick the year prior, he mentioned that Detroit might have viewed him as their long-term option at small forward. Seeing that he'd go on to play for the franchise for a decade, it could be the truth.

During his time with the Pistons, Prince was a valuable two-way forward. He did a little bit of everything on the floor, making him a high-level complementary piece. In nearly 800 games with Detroit, Prince averaged 12.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.6 APG. One of his most notable feats from his time with the Pistons was defending Kobe Bryant in the 2004 NBA Finals.