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Once upon a time, there was no limit to the number of draft rounds. It lasted as long as there were teams interested in drafting players. As the league expanded and evolved, the draft actually became smaller, eventually adopting the two-round format we know today in 1989. Even then, the second round began at pick No. 28 because there were only 27 teams in the league. The modern draft structure didn’t fully take shape until 2004, when the NBA expanded to 30 teams, and the draft became the 60-pick event we grew accustomed to for the next two decades.
That historical context is important as we continue our journey through picks 40 through 31. If you go back far enough, many of these selections weren’t even second-round picks. The 31st overall pick, for example, was a third-round selection in 1969. In 1960, the 40th overall pick was the final selection of the fifth round.
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Times have certainly changed. But regardless of whether a player was selected in the second round, third round, or fifth round, the draft slot remains the draft slot. The objective of this exercise is to determine the best player ever selected at each position, regardless of the era in which they were chosen.
Today, we close out the modern front end of the second round. Before we begin, let’s take one final look back at the players who earned the title of best player selected at each draft position from No. 60 through No. 41.
Pick
Player
Year
60
Michael Cooper
1978
59
Pat Cummings
1978
58
Kurt Rambis
1980
57
Manu Ginobili
1999
56
Amir Johnson
2005
55
Luis Scola
2002
54
Sam Mitchell
1985
53
Anthony Mason
1988
52
Rasual Butler
2002
51
Kyle Korver
2003
50
Steve Kerr
1988
49
Eddie Johnson
1997
48
Marc Gasol
2007
47
Paul Millsap
2006
46
Jeff Hornacek
1986
45
Bob Dandridge
1969
44
Malik Rose
1996
43
Michael Redd
2000
42
Stephen Jackson
1997
41
Nikola Jokic
2014
And now, on with the show…
40. George Gervin (1974)
NEW YORK – CIRCA 1978: George Gervin #44 of the San Antonio Spurs drives on Butch Beard #9 of the New York Knicks during an NBA basketball game circa 1978 at Madison Square Garden in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Gervin played for the Spurs from 1974-85. (Photo by Focus on…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/draft-slot-history-best-players-120000064.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-19 12:00:00
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