Milwaukee Bucks: Ranking the 5 best players drafted at 24th overall

Ranking the 5 best players drafted 24th overall: #3 – Andrei Kirilenko (UTA)

As sad as I am to say this, number three is not Marquis Daniels and it is not a former Buck either. But Andrei Kirilenko was pretty awesome at his peak but it was short-lived.

At 797 games played, Kirilenko doesn’t come close to the two previous names listed before him but he was surely the more impactful player in his prime. We just didn’t get to see it as much as we would have liked.

After being taken by the Utah Jazz in 1999, Kirilenko spent two seasons in Russia’s pro league before coming over and making an immediate impact. In 681 games with the Jazz, Kirilenko averaged 12.4 points on 57.1 percent true shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.0 blocks. He was an absolute menace on the defensive end and I loved it.

His career stats and accolades won’t jump off the page but he was a force on defense with three All-Defense teams to his name, he won the blocks title in ’04-’05, and was an All-Star in that same season. He averaged 16.5 points on 56 percent true shooting, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.9 steals, and 2.8 blocks. He had two seasons where he averaged over three blocks per game!

Imagine a player like Kirilenko getting dropped into this Bucks team and being able to wreak havoc on the defensive end with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, & Co.? It would be a terrifying sight for opposing offenses. And he’s not even the second-best player who was taken at this draft spot!