San Antonio Spurs: A look back at NBA Draft history before 2017
By Simon Shortt
How high is the ceiling, and how low is the floor, for the San Antonio Spurs with their 29th and 59th picks in the 2017 NBA Draft?
For the sixth and fifth time since 1977, the San Antonio Spurs have the 29th and 59th selections in the NBA Draft, respectively. With a summer full of question marks and a deep class of prospects, Gregg Popovich & co. will be sure to make the picks count.
Despite the question marks going into the offseason, there is little doubt this is a team that will be competing at the top of the league next year. Therefore, their rookies should be players that can either bring something to the table right away a la Dejounte Murray, or perhaps spend some time overseas, like Davis Bertans did from 2011 until this past season.
The Spurs have a mixed bag in terms of their past selections at No. 29, with their most recent pick being Murray from just last year. Murray played a big role this season as rookie filling in throughout the year for an injured Tony Parker.
In eight regular season starts, he averaged 9.5 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. In the playoffs he averaged 5.7 points, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game and proved he was not afraid of the moment. Murray looks like he is ready to take the reins as the team’s point guard even sooner than expected.
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Murray was not the only heady playmaker the team took at 29. Back in 2011, San Antonio selected Cory Joseph with the second to last pick of the first round. After playing in just 57 contests in his first two seasons combined, Joseph averaged 6.0 points and 2.1 assists over 147 games in his final two years with the team. He then signed with the Toronto Raptors, where he has averaged 8.9 points and 3.1 assists in 25.3 minutes per game over the last two years.
The Spurs’ other three 29th overall picks are Leon Smith (1999), Cory Alexander (1995) and Mike Brittain (1985). Smith was traded on draft night to the Dallas Mavericks for Gordan Giricek and a draft pick. Alexander averaged 5.1 points and 2.5 assists in two and a half seasons with the team before being waived midseason in 1998. Brittain played 38 games with the Spurs, and in the league, and averaged 1.7 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.
Marcus Denmon (2012), Adam Hanga (2011), Damir Markota (2006) and Dan Henderson (1977) are the four players the San Antonio Spurs have picked with the 59th overall selection. None of these players ever played a game for the Spurs, and only Markota played in an NBA game.
Markota was traded on draft night to the Milwaukee Bucks and saw action in 30 games in the 2006-07 season. Although it is possible that Hanga could join the Spurs this season, as he has played in Europe since his selection.
The 29th pick has done fairly well in NBA history, most notably resulting in Hall of Famer Dennis Johnson. Johnson was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1976 and played 14 years in the league, including stops with the Phoenix Suns and of course, the Boston Celtics. Johnson was a five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-Defensive team member, three-time NBA champion and the 1978-79 NBA Finals MVP.
The pick has resulted in many other good to very good players, who had long careers in the NBA. There were champions, various award winners and good role players such as:
- Josh Howard (2003)
- Trenton Hassell (2001)
- Mark Madsen (2000)
- Nazr Mohammed (1998)
- P.J. Brown (1992)
- Toni Kukoc (1990)
- Vinny Del Negro (1988)
- Johnny Newman (1986)
- Eddie Johnson (1981)
- Louis Orr (1980)
- John Long (1978)
- Phil Smith (1974)
There were also some selections that were famous for other reasons. Daniel Orton (2010) has played just 542 minutes of NBA action, but was a part of that famous Kentucky draft class that saw five players go in the first round. There’s also Alando Tucker (2007) who played less than 500 minutes across four years in the NBA, but was the random breakout rookie in NBA 2K 2008 with an overall rating of 86.
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As one could imagine, the history of the 59th pick is less interesting. Just eight players since 1947 have seen NBA action who were selected in that slot. Markota, the Spurs pick they traded on draft day in 2006, had the fourth most games played on that list. Above him was DMV favorite D.J. Strawberry (2007), Sedric Toney (1985) and Pat Cummings (1978).
Strawberry played just 8.2 minutes per game in 33 contests with the Phoenix Suns in his first and only NBA season. Toney hung around the NBA from 1985 until 1994, playing in 122 games where his most productive campaign came in 1988-89 playing in 61 games for 15.1 minutes a night, 4.1 points and 2.7 assists.
Pat Cummings is the one guy in league history to make something out of the 59th pick. Over his 12 year career he played in 683 games for 21.3 minutes a night. At his peak, Cummings posted four straight years of averaging 12 points and eight rebounds per game as a starter. In his most productive two years he averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, but in just 94 games as he was dealing with injuries.
Next: 2017 NBA Mock Draft: Post-Lottery edition
On June 22, the San Antonio Spurs should have no problem finding a good player with the 29th pick. In such a deep draft that player should be talented enough to contribute day one if need be. The 59th selection might be different, with just one real success story in league history. But with the Spurs and a large pool of talent, there’s always a chance.