The 10 Best Late Picks in NBA Draft History

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

With the NBA Draft, the headlines are about the first rounders. Blake Griffin. Ricky Rubio. Hasheem Thabeet. These are the stars of the show.

But the draft doesn’t end after the lottery—and it doesn’t end after the first round. There’s a whole second round after that, and it would be a mistake to dismiss those guys out of hand just due to their draft position. As you’ll see on the list below, there have been more than a few guys drafted after the first round who went on to have extremely successful NBA careers.

To clarify the headline, this isn’t really the best non-first-rounders of all time. The problem with just keeping it to rounds is the number of picks per round has obviously gone way up as the league has expanded. The lottery now is 14 teams. In 1950, pick 14 was the third pick in the second round.

So though I’d really like to pull in guys like Bill Sharman (Capitols, 1950) and Cliff Hagan (Celtics, 1953), I have to draw the line at the modern-day pick 30 and later to qualify.

Of course, you have to have some criteria for a list like this. I’m putting heavy emphasis on players who made their impact with the team that drafted them. I’m not giving teams credit for great drafting if the guy never suited up for them.

As an example, the Suns drafted future Hall of Famer George Gervin with pick 40 of the 1974 draft, but Gervin decided to play for Virginia of the ABA instead. The Suns don’t get credit for that.

Another example is Bill Laimbeer, who was drafted with the 65th overall pick out of Notre Dame by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1979. But Laimbeer only played a year and a half with Cleveland before they traded him to Detroit, where he made his name as an all-time bastard. Because the majority of his success was with another franchise, Cavs select Laimbeer isn’t on the list.

Also, I’m excluding Europeans who were selected but didn’t come over to the NBA for three or four years, like Manu Ginobili or Dino Radja. That kind of situation puts the draftee on a different level than a college kid coming in as a second-rounder.

First, some honorable mentions (in chronological order):

Happy Hairston

With the 33rd pick in the 1964 draft, the Cincinnati Royals selected Hairston, a forward out of New York University. Hairston finished with a career double-double with averages of 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game with the Royals, Pistons, and Lakers.

He was a member of the 1971-72 NBA championship Lakers team that won a record 33 games in a row. During that season, both Hairston and teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down more than 1,000 rebounds, the only time any two NBA teammates have grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds each in the same season.

Michael Cooper

The 60th pick of the 1978 NBA draft out of New Mexico played his entire 12-year career with the Lakers, winning five NBA Championships as a defensive force on the court. Cooper was named to eight NBA All-Defensive Teams, including five First Teams, and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1987. When Larry Bird says you’re the best defender he ever played against, you’re the man.

Nick Van Exel

The 37th pick of the 1993 NBA draft out of the University of Cincinnati didn’t get along with a whole lot of people, but he did average 14.9 points per game and 7.3 assists per game in his five-year tenure in L.A. Nick played 14 years all told with the Lakers, Nuggets, Mavs, Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Spurs. He finished fifth all time in three-point attempts, eighth in three-pointers made, and had a career 6.6 assists per game average (35th best all time).

Cuttino Mobley

The 41st pick in 1998 out of the University of Rhode Island by the Houston Rockets played 11 seasons with the Rockets, Magic, Kings, and Clippers before retiring this past season due to a medical issue with his heart. He topped double digits in points in each of the past 10 years, with a high of 21.7 for the 2001-02 Rockets.

Monta Ellis

The 40th pick in 2005 out of Lanier High School is averaging 16 points per game through the first four seasons with the Golden State Warriors.

Now for the top 10:

10. Eddie Johnson, Atlanta Hawks—49th pick out of Auburn in 1977

Fast Eddie played 10 years in the league, the first seven and part of the eighth with Atlanta before finishing up his career with Cleveland and Seattle. A two-time All Star, Johnson finished with averages of 15.1 points and 5.1 assists per game, peaking at 19.1 points per game in 1980-81 and 7.8 assists per game in 1984-85.

Unfortunately, Johnson was plagued with legal troubles during his playing days, with the problems only getting worse since his forced retirement in 1987 due to his continuing cocaine addiction. Last October, Johnson was found guilty of sexual battery and sexual molestation on an eight-year-old girl and faces life without parole in a Florida prison.

9. Rashard Lewis, Seattle Supersonics—32nd pick out of Alief Elsik High School in 1998

The sight of Lewis in the green room in 1998 was the ultimate example of high school kids getting terrible advice from people who just don’t know. But despite the tears of that night, Lewis has had himself quite the career.

By year three in Seattle, Lewis was starting and averaging double figures, going from 14.8 points in 2000-01 to a high of 22.4 in his last season with the Sonics in 2006-07. A two-time All-Star, he’s a career 39 percent shooter from long range and 81 percent from the free throw line.

Though his scoring was down slightly the past year in Orlando, it looked as though he was finally reaching his full potential, averaging 19 points per game in the Magic’s 24-game playoff ride to the finals against the Lakers. Still two months shy of 30 years old, there’s a good chance Lewis might move up this list a decade or so from now.

8. Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics—31st pick out of BYU in 1981

Ainge may have annoyed the hell out of opposing players, coaches, and fans during his 14-year career, but he was an integral member of the '80s Celtics teams that won titles in 1984 and 1986 (and made the finals in 1985 and 1987). He was also on the 1992 Blazers team that lost to the Bulls.

Ainge made just one All-Star Game (1988), but his contributions went beyond just his 11.5 points and 4.0 assists per game averages. He was one of the first guys to make extensive use of the three-point line, shooting over 40 percent from three four times in his career, including 44 percent for the '86-87 Celtics.

In 1994, Ainge became the second man ever to hit 900 three-pointers in NBA history, finishing up with 1,002 for his career. To give you an indication of how the game has evolved, there are now 75 players on the 900 or more list. Ainge’s 1,002 is now just 52nd best.

7. Doc Rivers, Atlanta Hawks—31st pick out of Marquette in 1983

Like a lot of second-round picks who went on to great careers, their roles weren’t as primary scorers, but as key complementary guys to Hall of Fame-caliber stars. With Rivers, that star was Dominique Wilkins with the Hawks.

In 1985-86, Rivers averaged 8.4 assists per game while ‘Nique averaged 30.3 points per game. The next year, it was Rivers with 10 assists per game and Wilkins with 29 points per game. The next year, Rivers averaged 9.3 assists per game (plus a career-high 14.3 points per game) while Wilkins averaged 30.7 points per game.

Atlanta went to the playoffs all three of those years, plus the next, though Rivers’ assist total had dropped to 6.9 per game and would never again pass six. The period between 1985-86 and 1988-89 was the best four-year stretch in franchise history, and it was Rivers bringing the ball up the court for nearly every game.

In total, Rivers played 13 seasons for the Hawks, Clippers, Knicks, and Spurs. He made one All-Star Game (1988) and finished with averages of 10.9 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

6. Jeff Hornacek, Phoenix Suns—46th pick out of Iowa State in 1986

Hornacek is likely more known to younger fans for his exploits with the Utah Jazz, but he had quite the career going in Phoenix before being included in the Charles Barkley trade that sent him to Philadelphia (where he played a year and a half before moving to the Jazz).

Hornacek came into his own during his third year in the league, scoring in double figures for the first time at 13.5 in '88-89. The Suns made their first of 13 consecutive playoffs appearances that year, with Hornacek a primary cog in the first four (and the rest considering he helped bring in Barkley). He topped out at 20.1 points per game in 1991-92 (his only All-Star year) as the Suns went 53-29 and made the second round of the Western Conference playoffs before losing to Portland.

Hornacek finished his career with 12 consecutive seasons averaging double digits in points for a career average of 14.5 points per game. He finished as a 40 percent shooter from long range and 87.7 percent from the free throw line, 12th best of all time.

5. Michael Redd, Milwaukee Bucks—43rd pick out of Ohio State in 2000

Redd played exactly 35 minutes over six games as a rookie, but he has since blossomed into one of the most consistent scorers in the league, averaging 20 or more points for the past six consecutive seasons (this past season shortened to 32 games due to a knee injury).

It’s hard to believe Redd has only made one All-Star Game in his career so far considering he’s finished in the top 10 in scoring average in the league four times already. But if he can come back from his knee injury healthy and the Bucks are able to put some talent around him (debatable at this point), then Redd may go down as the highest-scoring non-first-round pick in the history of the NBA.

4. Randy Smith, Buffalo Braves—104th pick out of Buffalo State in 1971

A seventh-round pick out of an obscure D-III program, Smith was the ultimate long shot. But not only did he finish with career averages of 16.7 points and 4.6 assists per game over 12 seasons, he also had a then-record 906 consecutive-game streak from 1972 to 1982 (since broken by A. C. Green).

Playing alongside league scoring champion Bob McAdoo, Smith averaged 21.8 points per game in the 1975-76 season and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Two years later, Smith averaged 24.6 points per game (in 40.4 minutes per game) and won the 1978 All-Star Game MVP award. You look at some of the guys who played in that game—Dr. J, Bill Walton, David Thompson—and you get the sense of what kind of accomplishment that was.

3. Jerome Kersey, Portland Trail Blazers—46th pick out of Longwood College in 1984

Kersey only spent a few years as a full-time starter and never made an All-Star team, but you know you’re doing something right when you close the book on your career and it’s got 1,153 games over 17 years.

Kersey had his best statistical season in 1987-88 with 19.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He averaged 16 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as Portland made the 1990 finals (losing to Detroit), and 12.6/8.2 as they made it to the '91-92 finals (losing to Chicago).

More than just stats, Kersey was the ultimate team guy with the Trail Blazers. When he was transitioned from starter to bench to make way for Clifford Robinson* in the mid-'90s, he just went about being the best bench contributor he could be.

When it was all said and done, Kersey finished second in franchise history in games played, third in minutes, third in free throws, second in rebounds, eighth in assists, third in steals, fourth in blocks, and fourth in points.

Not bad for a second rounder.

(* With an 18-year career and nearly 20,000 points, Robinson certainly deserves to be on this list as the 36th pick out of Connecticut in 1989, but I’m leaving him off for Kersey. I didn’t even put him on the honorable mention list. I just never did like Clifford all that much.)

2. Bob Dandridge, Milwaukee Bucks—45th pick out of Norfolk State in 1969

A member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1970, Dandridge, playing third fiddle to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and Oscar Robinson, averaged 18.4 points per game as the Bucks won the NBA championship in 1971.

Dandridge would win another title during his tenure with the Washington Bullets in 1978, averaging over 19 points per game while again playing third fiddle to a pair of future Hall of Famers, this time Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld.

In all, Dandridge played 13 years in the NBA, making four All-Star teams and finishing with career averages of 35.2 minutes, 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.

1. Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers—36th pick out of West Texas A&M in 1978

Playing at various times with guys like Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, and Charles Barkley, Cheeks was never counted on to be the man on offense. The 76ers needed him to be an unselfish distributor and hard-nosed defender, and that’s exactly what he was.

Cheeks played 15 years, 11 with Philadelphia, leading the 76ers to the NBA finals in 1980, 1982, and 1983, when they won the NBA championship.

Cheeks was a four-time All Star and was named to four straight NBA all-defensive squads from 1983 to 1986. He currently ranks 10th all time in the NBA for assists and fourth in steals. He is one of only nine players in NBA history to average better than 2.0 steals per game.

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