Sports Trivia: Can You Name the 5th Member of the 2003-2004 NBA All-Rookie Team?

~2003 NBA Draft~

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Darko Miličić, Detroit Pistons
Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade, three current members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame and one future member (Anthony), were four of the Top 5 picks of 2003 NBA Draft. They also took up four spots on the NBA All-Rookie Team at the end of the 2003-2004 season. But who occupied that fifth spot?

David West, Nick Collison, Boris Diaw, T.J Ford, Mickaël Piétrus, Leandro Barbosa, Luke Walton, and current New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green are some of the names from this draft class that you may recognize, even ESPN’s Big Perk (Kendrick Perkins) was in this rookie class! But, none of them were the 5th member.

That honor goes to Kirk Hinrich, the 6’4, 190lb Point Guard from Kansas University, who was taken with the #7 pick by the Chicago Bulls.

Captain Kirk…

Hinrich, nicknamed Captain Kirk (for all you Trekkies out there), was never a dominant player like his All-Rookie Team teammates. His career averages of 10.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, and 4.8 apg are not getting him into the Hall of Fame. He never made the All-Star team. His career high scoring average was 16.6 points per game in his fourth season. He never shot higher than 45% from the field. His top career highlights could arguably be being named to the All-Rookie Team and also being named to the All-Defensive Second Team for the 2006-2007 season.

He wasn’t flashy, but he was solid. He wasn’t dominant, but he was dependable. Not the quickest, but you couldn’t outhustle him. Not the strongest, but you weren’t going to push him around. Respected and liked by his teammates and opponents, Hinrich was viewed as a smart and tough defender who never backed down.

Talking about the 2003-2004 NBA All-Rookie Team might be the only time we’ll ever mention Kirk Hinrich with the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade, but you know what, that’s not a bad thing at all.

We salute you Captain Kirk!