Carlos Boozer and the Top 10 NBA 2nd-Round Draft Picks Since 1990
In honor of the upcoming draft, it never hurts to look back on the drafts preceding it. Typically, when people look back on drafts, they tend to look no further than the Top 10 picks, seeing as the superstars that typically walk amongst the NBA landscape are either high first-round draft picks, or at the lowest, mid-first round draft picks (Kobe Bryant, John Stockton etc.). But, at most, maybe once in a draft, you find a hidden gem in the late first round and even in the second round, where you'll mostly find project players with only one key attribute: potential.
These 10 second-round draft picks have been the absolute best at discovering their "potential."
10. Mo Williams
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The Skinny: 2009 NBA All-Star, 47th overall pick by Utah Jazz in 2003
Mo Williams is the perfect example of a second-round draft pick that made it to the NBA through hard work. He's a guy who is unimpressive in stature (6'1", 185 lbs), who didn't have the impressive pre-draft workouts and resume, compared to guys like Melo, Wade and LeBron, and a guy who, in the first season of his career, was a complete afterthought on the Jazz roster (13.5 MPG in rookie season).
After being released by the Jazz, following his rookie season, and signing with another small-market team, the Bucks, Williams' career took off. After three strong seasons with the Bucks, he would go on to sign a six-year, $52 million contract in the summer of '07 with the Bucks, which was unimaginable when he was selected with the 47th overall pick in 2003.
Williams had his best years with Cleveland in the late '00s as Lebron's sidekick, earning an All-Star berth and making a couple of deep runs into the playoffs as Eastern Conference favorites. However, he failed to actually live up those lofty expectations.
9. Stephen Jackson
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The Skinny: NBA champion (2003), 43rd pick overall by Phoenix Suns in 1997
Stephen Jackson is an interesting character. A guy who was an All-American in '96, before being ruled academically ineligible to play at the University of Arizona and was forced to play at a small community college in his first season as a college player.
Although teams knew the talent was there, obviously the character issues and the lack of experience in a big-stage environment scared teams off. Jackson was finally nabbed with the 43rd pick by the Suns. It would be three years before Jackson would play an NBA game and finally find a home in the league.
Jackson would go on to win an NBA Championship with the Spurs in '03, as the Spurs' third option, cementing his status in the NBA as a legit second or third option on a good team.
Despite being a low-percentage shooter (.418 as a forward), Jackson has made a couple of teams better because of his scoring ability, regardless of being an annual piece acquired at the trade deadline. The Cinderella '07 Warriors and the '10 Bobcats are perfect examples of this.
8. Toni Kukoc
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The Skinny: Sixth Man of the Year (1996), 29th overall pick by Chicago Bulls in 1990
Toni Kukoc is a little bit different than all of these other players on this list. Unlike the other players, Kukoc was a bonafide player with a heavy resume. He had won numerous championships in Europe and may even be considered the "MJ of Europe" in the 80s and early 90's, before making his debut in the states following Jordan's first retirement in 1993.
Due to the unfamiliarity of how international players would adjust to the style of play in the US, Kukoc wasn't exactly a heavily hyped player when he debuted in the US.
He proved just why he was such a great player in Europe, contributing to the Bulls' second three-peat in the late 90s, as the best sixth man in the NBA and as the third option behind Jordan and Pippen.
Kukoc exemplified what a sixth man was supposed to be, and in my opinion, popularized the "Sixth Man" role.
7. Cedric Ceballos
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The Skinny: 1995 NBA All-Star, 1992 Slam Dunk champion, 48th overall pick by Phoenix Suns in 1990
In terms of the most underrated second-round player on this list, that honor goes to Cedric Ceballos. A guy who has been completely forgotten in NBA lore. This guy was a great player for a two to three-year span in the mid 90s.
As a 6'6" forward, Ceballos led the league in FGP in 92-93, as part of the finals-bound Phoenix Suns, with a .576 FGP. I don't care that the Suns had a high-octane offense—the offenses were a lot faster paced compared to most eras in the NBA. If you're a 6'6" SF, shoot .576 and lead the league in FGP, that is an incredible accomplishment.
Ceballos would go on to team with Nick Van Exel to lead some exciting, but mediocre, Lakers teams of the mid-90s. A forgotten time period due to the Lakers' high standards of excellence. This is the main reason for Ceballos' greatness being generally forgotten.
6. Nick Van Exel
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The Skinny: One-time NBA All-Star, NBA All-Rookie Second Team, 37th overall pick by Los Angeles Lakers in 1993
I had a difficult time choosing between Van Exel or Ceballos for this spot, but ultimately Van Exel's consistent play through a 13-year career put him over Ceballos.
As mentioned before, Van Exel teamed up with Ceballos to lead the Lakers before the acquisition of Shaq completely reshaped the Lakers' roster.
A good player, but never a great player, Van Exel had very good seasons in his career but was consistently overshadowed by more known commodities and just plain better PGs such as Stockton, Mark Jackson and later on Jason Kidd and Allen Iverson.
Van Exel's best season was in '99-'00 with the Denver Nuggets, averaging 16.1 PPG and 9.0 APG.
5. Michael Redd
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The Skinny: 2004 NBA All-Star, All-NBA Third Team, 43rd overall pick by Milwaukee Bucks in 2000
This is a guy that is the definition of a self-made star. Redd was not a hyped commodity entering the NBA, despite playing at a big-time school. Nobody excepted Redd would become the face of an NBA franchise for almost a decade and become one of the highest paid players in the NBA at one point.
Redd was a high-octane scorer, averaging 25-plus PPG for two straight seasons on decent field goal percentages, and was top 10 in scoring on four separate occasions and even top 10 in three-pointers on two different occasions.
Redd was one of the best go-to scorers in the prime of his career, before injuries derailed him.
4. Rashard Lewis
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The Skinny: Two-time NBA All-Star, 32nd overall pick by Seattle Supersonics in 1998
Rashard Lewis was selected straight out of high school, and like a lot of a high school and second-round draftees, he was a late bloomer. Rashard was a bench guy for his first two seasons in the league, before he became a starter at SF for the Sonics in the '00-'01 season.
Rashard Lewis probably had his best season in '04-'05, when he put up 20.5 PPG on .462 shooting and led the Sonics to the second round. Along with Ray Allen, they would lose to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs.
Rashard Lewis would go on to sign one of the largest contracts in NBA history, signing for six years and $118 million with the Orlando Magic in the summer of '07. Rashard Lewis is probably, to the shock of many, one of the best three-point shooters of all time. He currently ranks seventh in career three-pointers made.
3. Carlos Boozer
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The Skinny: Two-time NBA All-Star, All-NBA Third Team, NBA All-Rookie Second Team, 35th overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002
Carlos Boozer is another underrated player on this list. A guy who played at a big-time school in Duke but was always overshadowed by future No. 2 overall pick Jay Williams and sharpshooter Mike Dunleavy. Boozer has made an impact since his rookie season in the league and followed it up with a great sophomore campaign. He played alongside LeBron James, averaging 15.5 PPG and 11.4 RPG. He's a guy who has double-double averages of 17.7 and 10.1 per game over his career.
Boozer is not a flashy player, he's not a guy who's going to light up the stat sheet and he's not a guy who's a first option. However, he is a guy that can be counted on as the go-to guy for short stretches.He has been one of the best second options in the league for the past eight years and has been a winner for the better part of his NBA career (two conference finals appearances).
A word that best describes Carlos Boozer: consistency.
2. Gilbert Arenas
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The Skinny: Three-time NBA All-Star, All-NBA Second Team, two-time All-NBA Third Team, NBA Most Improved Player (2003), 30th overall pick by Golden State Warriors in 2001
Gilbert Arenas, at one point in time, may have been the NBA equivalent of the NFL's Chad Ochocinco.
At his peak, when Arenas was averaging 29.3 PPG, he was the definition of a "must-see player." Despite being teamed up with a good supporting cast and being a part of a poor man's "Big Three," with Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, everybody watched Wizards games for Gilbert Arenas.
Whether it was coming up with nicknames for himself, such as "Hibachi", to writing blogs on NBA.com, to further his popularity before the advent of Twitter, Arenas was one of the most electrifying players during his prime.
He dropped 60 on the Los Angeles Lakers, breaking the record for most points in an overtime period (16) and most points scored in under 30 minutes since the creation of the shot clock (46).
Unfortunately, people now know Arenas as a past-his-prime (despite being only 29), low percentage (.344 FGP in '10-'11 as part of the Magic's rotation) shooter, who can't contribute a dime to an NBA team.
As far as a player's peak is concerned, no second-round pick in the past 20 years can compare to "Agent Zero".
1. Manu Ginobli
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The Skinny: Three-time NBA champion, Two-time NBA All-Star, Two-time All-NBA Third Team, Sixth Man of the Year (2008), NBA All-Rookie second Team, 57th overall pick by San Antonio Spurs in 1999
There is no doubt that Manu Ginobli is the greatest second-round pick of the past 20 years. The resume speaks for itself.
A guy who didn't have any hoopla surrounding him when he was drafted and was completely unknown by the time he played his first NBA season—three years after he was initially drafted. Ginobli completely rewrote what a late second-round draft pick could contribute to an NBA team.
Ginobli has either been the Spurs' first, second or third-best player for the past eight years. He is seen as the "fire that lights the Spurs" and the go-to guy in the clutch for San Antonio.
Ginobli is the definition of a guy who has not only reached his potential, but surpassed it by far.
