NBA Draft: Best second round draft picks ever
1. Manu Ginobili,1999, No. 57 overall pick
C’mon, you knew this was coming, right? I mean Manu Ginobili and the San Antonio Spurs met up at the right place at the right time to achieve perfection in 1999. Manu is the poster boy for the whole draft and stash pandemic that occurs in the second round of NBA draft. The Spurs took him in 1999 but he didn’t make the jump to the NBA until 2002 when he was already 25-years old. The only reason this stinks is because we were deprived of watching this magical lefty for three more seasons prior to the 2002-03 campaign.
Ginobili’s career numbers are 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists but honestly that means zip to his legacy, because holy moly, just watch this pass, and this one, and this fireball to Matt Bonner who fully expected it by the way!
The Spurs have made the playoffs every single season with Ginobili as part of the roster, they’ve taken home four NBA Championships and he’s been a major part of one of the best trios in NBA history — that’s not hyperbole. Ginobili currently holds a Box Plus-Minus (BPM) of 5.4 which places him 13th all time — right in between teammate Tim Duncan and Karl freakin Malone. In his only two seasons as a full-time starter (2005 and 2011) he earned a trip to the NBA all-star game, but those accolades aren’t important to who Charles Barkley lovingly calls Gi-no-bi-liiiiiiii.
He’s by far the best second round pick and it’s really not close.
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