Think you can fall asleep once the first round of the NBA Draft is over? Think again. It seems like every year, a player or two from the second round emerges into a solid NBA contributor, eventually developing into an All-Star caliber player. Here is a list of the Top 10 second round picks in the modern era of basketball. (Most people believe that the modern era of the NBA began when the three-point rule was instituted, in the 1979-80 season.) The criteria are simple: how good was the player or if the guy is still playing, how good does he project to be once his career is over? That last part takes a little guesswork, but it makes the list more fluid as the guys currently playing establish their legacy. I also took into account whatever accolades each player won, be they All-Star appearances, All-NBA teams, even All-Defensive or Sixth Man awards. Special consideration was given to those players who were key players on championship squads. After all, winning a ring is what it's all about.
Let's start with a few Honorable Mentions:
Players who could still make the list: Monta Ellis, Mo Williams, Mehmet Okur, Stephen Jackson, Daniel Gibson, Paul Millsap, Carl Landry, Brandon Bass, Louis Williams and Ryan Gomes
Older/Retired players who had solid NBA careers: Nick Van Exel, Cliff Robinson, Cedric Ceballos, P.J. Brown, Antonio Davis, Steve Kerr, Vernon Maxwell, Jerome Kersey and Gerald Wilkins
10. Anthony Mason, 1988, #53 (Portland)
Career Averages: 10.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, .509 FG%
Mason was actually drafted in the third round and was cut shortly thereafter. After playing in Turkey and in the CBA, he was eventually signed by the New York Knicks in 1992 and really blossomed under head coach Pat Riley, becoming (along with Scottie Pippen) one of the league's prototypical point-forwards several years after Paul Pressey made the position famous. Along with Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Charles Smith, the quartet made an intimidating front line in Riley's thug-ball system, setting the game back 20 years in the process. A year after losing in the NBA Finals to Hakeem Olajuwon, Mason was named Sixth Man of the Year in 1995. He was later traded to Charlotte, where he was named to the All-Defensive 2nd Team and All-NBA 3rd team, and following a 2001 trade to Miami, Mason was selected for his first All-Star Game. He was then traded again to the Milwaukee Bucks, completely ruining the team's chemistry that had them in the Eastern Conference Finals the previous season.
Bonus points for... being one scary-looking mofo.
Negative points for... having the reputation of being a general malcontent and chemistry-killer... ruining my beloved Bucks. Great acquisition, George Karl!
(See the rest of the list after the jump.)
Let's start with a few Honorable Mentions:
Players who could still make the list: Monta Ellis, Mo Williams, Mehmet Okur, Stephen Jackson, Daniel Gibson, Paul Millsap, Carl Landry, Brandon Bass, Louis Williams and Ryan Gomes
Older/Retired players who had solid NBA careers: Nick Van Exel, Cliff Robinson, Cedric Ceballos, P.J. Brown, Antonio Davis, Steve Kerr, Vernon Maxwell, Jerome Kersey and Gerald Wilkins
10. Anthony Mason, 1988, #53 (Portland)
Career Averages: 10.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, .509 FG%
Mason was actually drafted in the third round and was cut shortly thereafter. After playing in Turkey and in the CBA, he was eventually signed by the New York Knicks in 1992 and really blossomed under head coach Pat Riley, becoming (along with Scottie Pippen) one of the league's prototypical point-forwards several years after Paul Pressey made the position famous. Along with Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Charles Smith, the quartet made an intimidating front line in Riley's thug-ball system, setting the game back 20 years in the process. A year after losing in the NBA Finals to Hakeem Olajuwon, Mason was named Sixth Man of the Year in 1995. He was later traded to Charlotte, where he was named to the All-Defensive 2nd Team and All-NBA 3rd team, and following a 2001 trade to Miami, Mason was selected for his first All-Star Game. He was then traded again to the Milwaukee Bucks, completely ruining the team's chemistry that had them in the Eastern Conference Finals the previous season.
Bonus points for... being one scary-looking mofo.
Negative points for... having the reputation of being a general malcontent and chemistry-killer... ruining my beloved Bucks. Great acquisition, George Karl!
(See the rest of the list after the jump.)
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