By Bob Bonett

Sure, there’s a ton of hype over this weekend’s NFL Draft. Without a doubt, it will not disappoint either, with the Raiders’ No. 1 selection drawing more speculation than any other first pick in recent memory (yes, even more than when the Texans, for some inexplicable reason, drafted Mario Williams).

However, when it comes to the king of draft day, look no further than the NBA. And in 2007, fans are in for quite a treat, with one of the deepest draft classes in the past 20 years.

Remember last year, when Italy’s Andrea Bargnani was the first overall pick? Or perhaps the year before, when Aussie Andrew Bogut was taken at the top of the draft board by the Milwaukee Bucks?

Talk about snoozers.

This year, though, when the Memphis Grizzlies, or Boston Celtics, or whichever team gets the first pick, send David Stern to the podium to announce their selection, there is going to be some serious excitement.

The two men responsible for the hype surrounding this year’s draft are recently declared Kevin Durant of Texas and Greg Oden of Ohio State. Arguably the two best college freshmen since the days of Patrick Ewing, Durant and Oden led their teams, as teenagers, to success in the NCAA Tournament.

Now, they have NBA scouts drooling.

Which of these two phenoms are worth the first pick in the NBA draft, though? Who will have more of an impact on the game over the next fifteen years?

Undeniably, both Durant and Oden are going to end up being perennial all-stars. Both will probably be named to the NBA’s next anniversary team, and both will probably have a ring or two before they retire.

Regardless, one of these two superstars certainly deserves to be taken first, destined to greater NBA success.

Here’s a hint: he’s seven feet tall and weigh in at a “paltry” 280 lbs.

Yes, Durant carried a largely talentless Texas team to the top tier of college basketball teams. In addition, he admittedly probably held the status as college basketball’s most electrifying player this past year.

There is not a chance, though, that Durant carries more value than Oden does.

Take a look at every NBA champion since 1994 excluding the Chicago Bulls. (I think MJ is an exception to the rule). The Rockets won in 1994 and 1995 with one of the three big dominant centers of the early 1990s, Hakeem Olajuwon. After three more Jordan-led Bulls championships, the Spurs took home the title in 1999 with David Robinson manning the helm. From 2000 to 2002, Shaquille O’Neal took his Lakers to back-to-back-to-back wins. The Spurs returned to the elite in 2003 and 2005 with Duncan playing center, sandwiching a championship by the Ben Wallace-led Detroit Pistons. And of course, 2006 belonged to Shaq again, this time as a member of the Miami Heat.Sense a pattern?

To be successful in the NBA, you need a dominant center. Glancing around the NBA, not too many upper-echelon centers exist anymore. Sure, Yao is a human skyscraper in Houston, Big Ben is now playing for the Bulls, Shaq still leads the way in Miami, and Duncan is still the man in San Antonio. Outside that, though, not too many teams have a big man standing over seven feet in the middle. And I can almost guarantee you that the 2007 NBA champs will don a game-changing big man as well.

Oden is made in the mold of these guys. His defense is comparable to Ben Wallace. On the offensive end, he can score like Patrick Ewing did, shooting a percentage as high as Tim Duncan. Isn’t it sensible to draft a player that has the potential to be the best player at the NBA’s most influential position over the past decade?

I know I am in the majority here, and my colleague thus is probably fighting a losing argument. However, I just can’t see why any team would pass up on Oden with the top pick. No team that is in the lottery has an all-star center. Simply adding Oden alone could bring a team with 21 wins immediately into playoff contention; just look at what O’Neal did with the Magic in the nineties, and see what has happened with the Lakers since they lost the superstar.

So when David Stern opens the envelope on draft day, and Oden’s name is read, be excited, and take a look at his fingers. It may be one of the last times that an NBA Championship ring is missing.