NBA Draft 2016: Every team’s most underrated pick ever

Feb 27, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) during the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) during the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the stage before the start of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the stage before the start of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

The NBA Draft is supposed to be an orderly and equitable distribution of talent but finding an undiscovered gem can help a team game the system. Who is the most underrated pick in the history of each franchise?

Value. Value. Value.

The NBA Draft is all about value, as the best teams in the NBA extract the most out of their selections while the league’s bottom-feeders often flail incoherently when it comes to adding young talent from the college and international ranks. In advance of the 2016 edition of the NBA Draft, we will take a look at the draft history of the league’s 30 teams and in the end, we will come up with the most underrated selection for each and every franchise.

It absolutely must be noted that the “best of the best” picks will not be recognized here. The great majority of NBA franchises have at least one home run draft pick on the books somewhere, but we will avoid those choices and other famous (or infamous) selections in an effort to highlight some of the under-the-radar additions that deserve additional attention.

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson won’t be highlighted in this space, but there is plenty more to take away from the NBA Draft than just superstar impact. Now, let’s get to the choices, coming to you in alphabetical order by the organization that selected them.

And we’re off.

Next: Atlanta Hawks