We continue our eDraft exclusive look at the top NBA draft choices over the past 40 years. Our continued look back through history will determine who was the best draft selection through each slot in the draft. We don’t stop with the first overalls, we will go pick by pick, year by year to to identify the very best selections of all-time.
So far we have uncovered four Hall of Famers plus Tony Parker who will one day have his name called as well. For those pundits who claim that drafts are weak or that teams are reaching come the later draft slots; talent can be found throughout. Seven draft spots down and if nothing else we have proved that shining stars can be found regardless of their draft day slot.
As we review and analyze 40 years of NBA drafts, it is very easy to find ten to twelve players each year who made the Association and made an impact. Factor in a few guys who were fringe NBA’ers and all-in-all the chance of drafting a successful NBA player through the later parts of the first round are hovering around a 35% sucess rate. Take into account; however, that among those select few, those who have had impactful careers certainly rank among the greatest to ever play.
Our continued analysis now takes us to the 23rd overall draft slot and after finding ourselves a Hall of Famer in Arvydas Sabonis with our best of 24th overall draftees, this class has it’s work cut out. Will we find yet another Hall of Famer, or will be see a down draft slot similar to that of 25th overall slot?
Before we announce our eventual winner, let’s take a glimpse at those who had their named called 23rd overall and who have carved a decent NBA living. The last ten years have seen five players who have battled for their time in the league. Kosta Koufas was drafted by Utah in 2008, Wilson Chandler went to New York in 2007, Francisco Garcia had his name called by Sacramento in 2005, Portland took Travis Outlaw in 2003 and the class of the decade was Detroit’s 2002 pick; Tayshaun Prince.
Five other’s throughout the years have also made their mark in the league, Devean George, Bobby Jackson, Wesley Person, A.C. Green and World B. Free are all former 23rd overall draft picks. While I love World B. Free and I officially crown his massive fro for having not only the best hair ever, his jump shot was as unorthodox as they come.
Our call winner doesn’t have the coolest name (also giving that title to World B. Free, the orginal Metta World Peace), his name is synonymous with basketball in Denver. Alex English was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1976 draft. He played sporadically for the Bucks for three season before moving onto Indiana for one year. English started to show his potential while with the Pacers and the Denver Nuggets swung a trade for the emerging small-forward.
Once in Denver, English blossomed into a prolific scorer and established himself as one of the games greatest. While with the Nuggets, English made eight All-Star appearances, was the NBA Scoring Champion in 1983, was named to three All-NBA Second Teams and was the most prolific scorer in the NBA during the 1980’s.
English retired from the Association in 1991 and at that time he was sixth all-time scorer in history. He has since been passed by players; however, English still ranks as the 16th highest scorer in NBA history. The Nuggets retired English’s #2 jersey in 1992 and it remains an iconic retro-jersey among the NBA greats. In 1997 the Naismith Hall of Fame inducted English to forever honor his accomplishments and secure his place in NBA history as one of the premier players in the league.
Alex English was an easy choice for our best 23rd overall draft pick. He along with Robert Parish are easily the class of the 1976 draft and while ‘The Chief’ went 8th overall, English was a superb find with the 23rd overall pick. Eight draft spots are completed and we now have five Hall of Famers plus one future inductee. Will the run of greatness continue? Tune in next time as we tackle the 22nd overall draft slot.