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

Ranking the 5 best players drafted 24th overall: #1 – Arvydas Sabonis (POR)

He only played 470 career NBA games and never made an All-Star team, but you’d be out of your mind if you wouldn’t want someone as talented as Arvydas Sabonis with the 24th pick in the draft.

I’ll hear the argument that Lowry’s longevity and actual NBA play should put him at number one, but I’m going to go with Sabonis and assume that he would come over to the NBA sooner and play longer.

Let’s start with his NBA career. As I mentioned, he only played 470 games and they were all with the Blazers. He averaged 12.0 points on 57.4 percent true shooting, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks. Those numbers don’t do enough justice for how great Sabonis was in an area where he wasn’t able to thrive as much as he could today. Oh, and he was also in his 30s when he came over to the NBA. Look at this dude, man.

Could you imagine his passing in today’s league with the spacing around him? We’re getting a glimpse of it with his son but he was truly before his time.

The guy is in the Hall of Fame for a reason and it’s only partially because of what he did in the NBA, though. He is one of the best international players ever, that’s all there is to it.

In nine seasons overseas, Sabonis averaged 19.9 points on 61 percent true shooting, 12.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.3 blocks. He also shot 38 percent from 3 on nearly two attempts per game with some seasons over 40 percent.

Someone with Sabonis’ talent wouldn’t be left until the 24th pick anymore as teams know what a passing hub big men can be (especially those that are really talented at it) and it’s unlikely Sabonis would have waited as long as he did to come over to North America if he was drafted today.

This is the high end for what the Milwaukee Bucks could get, a Hall of Famer that could help lead the team to a championship. It’s incredibly unlikely that this or even the four guys before him here would be the outcome for the Bucks’ pick but it’s fun to dream, right?

The Milwaukee Bucks have a tough decision to make whether or not they’ll keep the 24th overall selection or move it for a win-now player.