NBA Draft: Top 30 draft steals in league history
1. player. 29. Scouting Report. Manu Ginobili. Pick Analysis. Shooting Guard. 57th Pick: 1999
Best NBA Draft steals of all time: Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
When judging is a player is a draft steal, it’s essential to evaluate their production on the court versus where they were drafted.
When balancing that equation there is no better “value for pick” than Manu Ginobili.
After playing professionally in both Argentina and Europe, Ginobili entered the 1999 NBA Draft where the San Antonio Spurs selected him with the 57th pick. There were only 60 picks total.
Instead of coming to the NBA immediately, Ginobili elected to stay over seas for another three seasons. He finally made his Spurs debut in the 2002-03 NBA season at 25 years old.
Ginobili played 16 years in the NBA, all with the Spurs. Of those 16 seasons, he was a starter for only two of them.
From an outsider’s perspective, Ginobili’s overall impact in the NBA isn’t overly impressive: two All-Star Game appearances, two All-NBA selections and NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2007-08. He posted career averages of 13.3 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and 3.8 assists per game.
For Ginobili, though, it isn’t about the overall statistics. It isn’t about the fact that he didn’t start for his team.
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It’s about his impact with the Spurs and his contributions as the 57th player selected in the draft.
Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan led the Spurs to four NBA titles, 16 straight playoff appearances and a 70.9 percent winning percentage.
Ginobili played in over 1,000 games for the Spurs and starting in just 33.0 percent of those contests, despite being one of the best players on the team.
His performance on the floor, willingness to accept whatever role the team needed from him, professionalism and availability (he played until he was 40!) are absolutely unheard of for a player taken as one of the final five picks in the draft.
Other NBA players are better, bigger, stronger, more clutch and more successful than Ginobili.
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But when it comes to production versus draft selection, no player in NBA history can compare to Ginobili. He is the best draft steal ever in the NBA.