Utah Jazz: Ranking the last 10 first-round picks

3. Enes Kanter (2011)

While Enes Kanter has lost some of his hype in recent years as the league shifts further away from the center position his overall skill should not be ignored. In a rotation full of competition at his position Kanter continued to put up impressive numbers when he did get an opportunity. In his third season he averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds and followed that up with a 49 games stretch where he improved to 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.

Kanter was moved in the middle of the aforementioned season in a three-team trade with the Pistons and Thunder, landing him in Oklahoma City. During his three seasons in Oklahoma Kanter would transfer into his current role as a super-sub as a center.

As rare as this is in today’s game Kanter fits perfectly. Kanter averaged 14.2 points and 8.0 rebounds. After a down stretch in New York he would help anchor the back end of a Portland team in desperate need for a big man with Jusuf Nurkic out. While Damian Lillard was the best player on the floor Kanter was an essential part of the teams run to the Conference Finals.

As mentioned earlier the 2011 draft was something of a mess and while better players did go after Kanter (who went third) it was a great pick at the time. He had not gotten a chance to play in college but had so much potential and has been better than all but two other top 10 picks. Obviously Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard would have been better in hindsight but the Jazz still acquitted themselves well.