HERE’S a question for you: If you were lucky enough to win the NBA lottery on May 22, would you still take LeBron James without thinking twice?

Here’s what the GM of one playoff-bound NBA team said the other day.

“It’s funny, but suddenly one of the best places to be is the second spot in the draft, because you are guaranteed of getting a franchise player no matter what the first team does. The Bulls picked Jay Williams last year and everyone thought that was a no-brainer. Tell you what, if we were in the lottery, I wouldn’t mind being the guy who picked Carmelo Anthony at No. 2. I think he’s a guy who’ll make you look awfully smart awfully quick.”

He paused.

“Of course, maybe you’ll look even smarter if you go ahead and pick him No. 1. The way he’s played this year, that isn’t a crazy idea as it sounded a few months ago.”

This was a few hours after the new, official mantra of college basketball fans had thumped out of the Superdome grandstand. Syracuse had barely been a national champion for 10 minutes, and its fans hadn’t really gotten the chance to let the giddiness of that sink in, when someone spotted Carmelo Anthony taking a victory lap on the floor below.

And so it started.

“One! More! Year!” they crowed.

“ONE! MORE! YEAR!” they cried.

It was a nice moment, a sweet moment, and every single one of the true believers cloaked in their sacred orange vestments knew they were wasting their breath. Not that they cared, of course. Such is the contract college fans enter into with their biggest, brightest stars now. Find me a Syracuse fan conflicted by Anthony’s triumphant one-year stopover in central New York on his way to NBA stardom, and I’ll find you someone drinking lemonade at Patty O’Brien’s bar.

That debate is over. Much as Anthony couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye just yet, he knows that moment’s coming soon. If ever anyone held any romantic pie-eyed notions of the valor in staying in college one second longer than you need to, they surely vanished the instant Miami running back Willis McGahee’s knee splintered on him in last year’s Fiesta Bowl. Not only is Anthony gone, he should be gone.

Here is the more relevant subject:

If you are the Cavaliers, or the Clippers, or – close your eyes, hold your breath – the Knicks, whoever the winner of the NBA lottery happens to be, whom will you pick? For a year, the only logical answer has been the easiest one: LeBron James.

But would you really take him over Anthony now?

“What can LeBron do that Anthony can’t?” Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson had asked after watching Anthony chase his top-seeded Sooners out of the NCAA’s East Regional two weekends ago. “He’s learned a lot, playing against this level of competition. And excelling in this one-and-done tournament environment is a tremendous maturing tool.”

Now, anyone who’s seen James play at his highest level knows what a devastating talent he is, that he has an NBA-ready body, an inside-out game and a court presence that is frighteningly precocious.

The thing is, so does Anthony. On all counts. And he’s already logged a full season in the rugged Big East, he’s just played six straight games that are the equivalent of NBA Game 7s. And excelled in every one.

Begging the question, all over again: If you had the pick, whom would you take? Given the small disparity between the two talents (three, if you want to include 17-year-old Yugoslavian wunderkind Darko Milicic), you couldn’t lose going either way.

Although it says here you will probably lose less, over the next 15 years or so, if you went with Anthony.

Pick of the litter

Should LeBron James be the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft? Or has Carmelo Anthony assumed the throne? A look at the last 10 drafts suggests the player chosen first won’t necessarily turn out to be best. Career stats in parentheses.

2002

1. Yao Ming, C, Shanghai Sharks

by Houston (13.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg)

2. Jay Williams, G, Duke

by Chicago (9.3 ppg, 4.6 apg)

2001

1. Kwame Brown, F, Glynn Academy H.S.

by Washington (6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg)

2. Tyson Chandler, F, Dominguez H.S.

by L.A. Clippers (7.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg)

2000

1. Kenyon Martin, F, Cincinnati

by N.J. Nets (14.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg)

2. Stromile Swift, F, LSU

by Vancouver (8.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg)

1999

1. Elton Brand, F, Duke

by Chicago (19.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg)

2. Steve Francis, G, Maryland

by Vancouver (20.1 ppg, 6.4 apg, 6.3 rpg)

1998

1. Michael Olowokandi, C, Pacific

by L.A. Clippers (9.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg)

2. Mike Bibby, G, Arizona

by Vancouver (14.7 ppg, 6.8 apg)

1997

1. Tim Duncan, C, Wake Forest

by San Antonio (22.3 ppg, 12.3 rpg)

2. Keith Van Horn, F, Utah

by Philadelphia (17.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg)

1996

1. Allen Iverson, G, Georgetown

by Philadelphia (27 ppg, 5.6 apg)

2. Marcus Camby, F, Massachusetts

by Toronto (11.2 ppg, 8 rpg)

1995

1. Joe Smith, F, Maryland

by Golden State (13.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg)

2. Antonio McDyess, F, Alabama

by L.A. Clippers (17.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg)

1994

1. Glenn Robinson, F, Purdue

by Milwaukee (21.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg)

2. Jason Kidd, G, California

by Dallas (14.8 ppg, 9.4 apg, 6.4 rpg)

1993

1. Chris Webber, F, Michigan

by Orlando (22.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg)

2. Shawn Bradley, C, BYU

by Philadelphia (9.2 ppg, 7.1 ppg)