NBA Draft: Re-drafting the 2008 NBA Draft’s first round

#23 Pick – Utah Jazz: Nikola Pekovic (Originally: Kosta Koufos)

Big is an understatement when describing center Nikola Pekovic. Coming in at 6’11” and 307 pounds, Pekovic had quite a good tenure in the NBA for the limited amount of time he was there.

Pekovic only played six seasons in the NBA and was out of the league by 2016. Lower-body injuries are what kept the big man on the bench towards the end of his career and eventually put him out of the NBA for good.

However, when Pekovic played, he was good. A strong partner beside Kevin Love marked one of the best rebounding duos in the past 10 seasons. His top season, in 2013-2014, saw him average 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting at 54.1 percent from the field.

Maybe Pekovic doesn’t get hurt as much in an alternate universe. If that’s the case, he’s likely a top-15 player in this draft. Sadly, the reality is, he couldn’t stay on the court. He only played in 271 out of a potential 492 regular-season games.

A strong player when he was on the court, but seeing him on the court is rare. He still had a strong enough few seasons to be selected 23rd.