What The Blazers Can Expect With The 23rd Overall Pick
The Golden Age Of Role Players
As the NBA expanded quickly in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the 23rd pick improved. In 1993, the ‘other’ Earvin Johnson was selected at 23 overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. He played in 13 seasons over the course of his career for five different teams.
In 1995, the Indiana Pacers selected Travis Best at the 23rd spot. He played in 11 seasons in the league including his first seven as a mainstay for a perennially good Pacers organization.
In 1997, the Sonics selected Bobby Jackson at No. 23. Bobby Jackson was a precursor to the scoring guards of today. He played for 13 seasons in the NBA, and was a beloved character on the Sacramento Kings teams of the early 2000’s that came up just short multiple times. He was a proven playoff scorer that averaged double-digit scoring off the bench for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 Kings teams that had the most success.
Immediately following Bobby Jackson in 1997 was a stretch of four championship-caliber role players in five seasons that were selected 23 overall. In 1998, the soon-to-be-head-coach Tyronn Lue was drafted by the Denver Nuggets.
He found his way to the Lakers and the rest, as they say, is history. Although he may always be best known for being stepped over by Allen Iverson, Lue got his ring, and he’s coaching in the NBA Finals this season as well.
The Lakers scored on another valuable role player in 1999 when they drafted Devean George at 23 overall. George was a rookie on an NBA championship Lakers team, but by his third season, he was averaging almost 20 minutes a game in the playoffs during the Lakers’ third straight championship season, forever solidifying his name in NBA lore.
Just after George, the Utah Jazz selected DeShawn Stevenson in the year 2000 at 23rd overall. Stevenson certainly took his own circuitous route to success at the highest level.
But after pumping up his own brand as a LeBron-stopper as a member of the Washington Wizards, Stevenson brought that dynamic to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2010-11 NBA Finals and pestered both LeBron and Dwayne Wade on his way to confetti.
Two years later, in 2002, maybe the ultimate role player was selected at No. 23 overall, Tayshaun Prince. It’s almost weird to think back now and realize that Tayshaun was the only member of that Detroit Pistons starting group that never made an All-Star team.
But there’s no downplaying the importance Prince played in the Pistons’ championship in 2003-04, their return to the Finals the following season, and their six straight trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Next: Recent Success Of The 23rd Pick