NBA draft classes are not created equally.

Some spawn their own constellation of basketball stars. Others don't send a single hooper into orbit.

Most, of course, land somewhere between those extremes, but even then, there are differences between them.

We're here to dissect those differences and rank each draft class from 2000 to 2010. Stars dominate this discussion—just like they dominate the league—but depth plays a part, too. Longevity matters, but so do player peaks.

Ultimately, we're out to discover the drafts that featured the best players and made the biggest imprints on the Association.

11. 2000

If win shares is your preferred all-encompassing measure of success, then Hedo Turkoglu stands as the top player taken in this draft. Yes, as in zero-time All-Star Hedo Turkoglu, who started a pinch more than half of his games, never averaged 20 points (or six assists or six rebounds) and produced below-average player efficiency ratings in 12 of his 15 NBA seasons.

That was the best this draft could do.

Three players made an All-Star appearance (Kenyon Martin, Michael Redd and Jamaal Magloire), but none was invited back for a second. Redd was the draft's only player to average more than 15 points. Jamal Crawford ranked second in scoring despite shooting just 41 percent from the field.

Seven players from this entire draft topped 30 career win shares. Every other talent grab on this list had at least 10.

10. 2002

Dajuan Wagner had a 100-point game in high school and a nightly scoring average north of 21 points during his lone season of college ball. He scored at least 25 points in four of his first six NBA contests. But injuries and illness limited him to just 103 career appearances.

And yet, he doesn't even make the top three what-if rankings from this draft.

What if top pick Yao Ming could have avoided the foot problems that forced him into early retirement? What if No. 2 pick Jay Williams wasn't involved in a career-ending motorcycle accident after his rookie season? What if Amar'e Stoudemire, the top pick in our re-draft series, hadn't been slowed and ultimately derailed by knee, back and eye injuries?

It could have looked a lot better in hindsight, but now, it underwhelms in depth and star power. It produced four All-Stars (Yao, Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer and Caron Butler), but Stoudemire had the only All-NBA first-team honor among them. Seven of the top 20 picks played four NBA seasons or fewer.

9. 2004

The Association collectively embraced a high-risk, high-reward mentality for the 2004 draft, and given its modest ranking, you can probably deduce how that went.

The college ranks were relatively ignored in this selection process. Nine of the first 20 picks arrived via preps-to-pros leaps or from overseas. That includes No. 1 pick Dwight Howard, plus fellow lottery choices Shaun Livingston, Andris Biedrins, Robert Swift and Sebastian Telfair.

Howard is by far the biggest difference-maker in this class, which he leads in points, rebounds and win shares (133.9). The three-time Defensive Player of the Year carried the Orlando Magic to 2009 NBA Finals, and he enjoyed a four-year run of All-NBA and All-Defensive first-team appearances.

But this was about it for stars. Four other players made All-Star rosters (Luol Deng, Devin Harris, Andre Iguodala and Jameer Nelson), but Deng was the only two-time honoree. This class did have decent depth, though, with players like Kevin Martin, Al Jefferson, Ben Gordon, Tony Allen and Trevor Ariza filling either complementary roles on good teams or featured roles on not-so-good ones.

8. 2005

The 2005 draft delivered the NBA's point god. It just wasn't immediately clear which floor general deserved the label.

Deron Williams and Chris Paul were taken with back-to-back picks (third and fourth, respectively) and then battled for the title of league's best lead guard. History may not remember a real debate between them, but Williams kept it close (four-year run of 19.2 points and 10.5 assists per game) before injuries got the best of him.

Paul is the class' crown jewel and among the best players to pass through the Association in the last two decades. His 179.5 career win shares are the third-most anyone has collected since 2000.

Paul has made 10 All-Star trips, Williams went three times and David Lee booked a pair. The other two All-Stars in this draft (Andrew Bynum and Danny Granger) each hit high peaks before being almost immediately knocked down by injuries. While we haven't mentioned the top two picks yet, neither was a massive bust, as Andrew Bogut (first) and Marvin Williams (second) are among the eight players in this draft with 50-plus win shares.

7. 2010

The 2010 draft was unofficially sponsored by John Calipari. A record five Kentucky Wildcats went in the first round—John Wall (No. 1), DeMarcus Cousins (5), Patrick Patterson (14), Eric Bledsoe (18) and Daniel Orton (29)—which give the skipper the ultimate recruiting pitch.

"I'm not trying to be braggadocios, but if you're a player with pro potential, where do you want to go?" Calipari said, per ESPN's Andy Katz. "Not long ago it was Florida, and then it was Duke and then North Carolina. Right now it's Kentucky."

Over time, though, this draft has been defined less by its Kentucky connections and more by its four All-Stars who share an unfortunate similarity: serious leg injuries. Paul George and Gordon Hayward have fully recovered from theirs, but the jury is still out on Wall and Cousins.

This draft delivered a lot of solid-starter to reliable-reserve level bigs, like Derrick Favors, Hassan Whiteside, Greg Monroe, Ed Davis and Trevor Booker. It didn't do nearly as well with guards, but Avery Bradley, Evan Turner and Lance Stephenson had their moments.

6. 2006

In perhaps a strangely timed nod to pyrotechnics, the 2006 talent grab started with a dumpster fire that nearly engulfed the entire top five. Four of the selections rank among the 10 worst of the lottery era at their respective draft slot by career win shares: No. 1 Andrea Bargnani (eighth-lowest), No. 3 Adam Morrison (lowest), No. 4 Tyrus Thomas (eighth) and No. 5 Shelden Williams (10th).

But somehow, this brutal beginning didn't knock the whole draft off course. It still produced talent—and stars—just from further down the board.

Five All-Stars emerged from this draft, and they all made multiple trips. LaMarcus Aldridge is the clubhouse leader with seven, but Kyle Lowry is right behind with six. Paul Millsap and Rajon Rondo each made four All-Star trips, and Brandon Roy—who showed the highest ceiling in this class—went three times before his knees betrayed him and cut short what could have been a superstar-level career.

The early misfires didn't help with depth, as only a dozen players carved out decade-plus stays in the Association. But ace role players like JJ Redick, P.J. Tucker, Rudy Gay and Thabo Sefolosha give this draft some length.

5. 2001

The 2001 draft is arguably most famous—and certainly most infamous—for what happened at the top. The Washington Wizards, and then-team president Michael Jordan, made Kwame Brown the first-ever high school drafted with the No. 1 pick.

The Wizards would love to have that one back. While Brown still worked his way to a 12-year career, hindsight buries him beneath a mountain of above-average-to-really-good players in this draft.

The international imports shined brightest, as Pau Gasol (144.1) and Tony Parker (111.3) rank as the win shares leaders. Gasol was a six-time All-Star and two-time champion. Parker won four titles, made All-Star trips and secured the 2007 Finals MVP award. Their success only increased the need for international scouting going forward.

Six other All-Stars came out of this draft, and three made multiple appearances (Joe Johnson, seven; Gilbert Arenas, three; and Zach Randolph, two). All of them anchored playoff teams, and Arenas had a short spell as one of basketball's most prolific point-producers before injuries and off-court problems cut his career short. A deep collection of notable non-stars included Richard Jefferson, Shane Battier and Jason Richardson.

4. 2008

This is the first class on our list to house an MVP, and it doesn't stop with one.

Top pick Derrick Rose rocketed to stardom and needed just three seasons to become the youngest MVP ever. Russell Westbrook, selected fourth overall, made his own history while securing the Maurice Podoloff Trophy by becoming only the second player to ever average a triple-double. Even if his outputs aren't always the cleanest (he's not an efficient shooter or a great decision-maker), the numbers are no less ridiculous.

"He has scrambled our sense of what game-altering dominance looks like in the age of advanced stats, and he's done it largely without the benefit of the most important tool of the modern game: reliable three-point shooting," Kyle Wagner wrote of Westbrook for FiveThirtyEight.

Westbrook is the prized pull from this draft, but Rose still holds down the second spot despite having his career permanently altered by injuries. Five-time All-Star Kevin Love isn't too far behind.

Our re-drafted 2008 lottery is rich with talent of almost every variety. DeAndre Jordan, Brook Lopez and Serge Ibaka can handle the interior duties. Danilo Gallinari and Eric Gordon can perk up the perimeter scoring. Goran Dragic, D.J. Augustin and George Hill can initiate offense. Nicolas Batum can do a little of everything.

3. 2007

This was the Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant draft, and yes, young audience members, this was an actual debate at the time. A variety of ailments forced Oden into early retirement, but Durant launched himself into basketball's orbit as an all-time star and could almost single-handedly get the '07 class some love.

Durant is a once-in-a-lifetime force. He has the eighth-most win shares since 2000, even though he has only played 12 seasons to date and missed huge chunks of two (20 games in 2016-17, 55 in 2014-15). Among all players to make 500-plus appearances, he sits 12th all-time with .217 win shares per 48 minutes. He has a regular-season MVP, two Finals MVP awards and four scoring titles.

Durant could carry this class if he needed to, but he's not solely responsible for this ranking. This was the only draft in our sample size to produce multiple Defensive Player of the Year recipients (Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah). All three have made All-Star trips, as has Al Horford. Mike Conley never has, but he's on a short list of this era's best non-stars.

Depth wasn't a major strength of this draft, which only produced 11 players with 30-plus career win shares. But the non-headlining success stories include Thaddeus Young, Jared Dudley, Jeff Green and Marco Belinelli.

2. 2009

Want to know how to tell you're looking at a draft class for the ages? When it features both all-time greatness and debates about the best player in it.

Co-headliners Stephen Curry and James Harden launched the 2009 class into elite status. Curry has captured two MVP awards, including the first (and only) unanimous honor. Harden has an MVP trophy on his mantle and is stampeding toward a third straight scoring title. Curry has three rings. Harden has 30.1 more win shares.

Who would you choose? At this point, it's a matter of preference. Curry's stamp on the sport may never be forgotten, as the NBA's three-point revolution started with his rise. Harden has feasted on an analytically approved diet of triples and free throws to the point he has reached scoring rates unseen since Michael Jordan.

Few drafts feature a pair of all-time greats, and that's not even all that 2009 had. Blake Griffin and DeMar DeRozan were All-Star regulars, while Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague each made one appearance. Taj Gibson and Danny Green have long impressed as leaders on and off the court. Darren Collison did the same before his abrupt retirement.

Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans had flashes of stardom. Patrick Beverley, Ricky Rubio and Patty Mills have enjoyed lengthy runs as consistent contributors. Despite a few botched early picks (Hasheem Thabeet at No. 2, Jonny Flynn at No. 6), the draft's top-level talent and decent depth are enough to claim our second spot.

1. 2003 Draft

Despite a massive misfire at No. 2, the 2003 draft is easily the best of this bunch and among the greatest (and certainly most impactful) we've ever seen.

It provided the best player of this generation (if not the best all-time) in LeBron James, plus three other future Hall of Famers in Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony. The quartet has combined for 50 All-Star selections—James continues adding to that total—four MVP awards, four Finals MVP awards, three scoring titles and eight championship rings.

"We are not the best [draft class ever]; we are right up there," James told Hypebeast's Mallory Chin in 2017. "You know you obviously got the '96 draft; you got the '84 draft that's right up there. So for us to even be mentioned as one of the greatest drafts that the NBA has ever seen is an honor."

If it's possible, the leading members of this draft proved just as influential off the court. The current era of player empowerment and superteam dominance ties back to both James, Wade and Bosh teaming up in Miami in 2010 and Anthony orchestrating his own deadline deal to New York in 2011.

When fans think of anything from this draft other than these four, it's probably No. 2 pick Darko Milicic, who will be remembered as one of the Association's biggest busts. But this class featured five other All-Stars (David West, Mo Williams, Kyle Korver, Josh Howard and Chris Kaman) and 27 players in total who carved out NBA careers of a decade-plus.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com, ESPN.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.

Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.