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

By Brad Rowland

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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Nov 16, 2014; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller and assistant coaches Damon Stoudamire and Book Richardson sit on the bench during the second half against the Cal State Northridge Matadors at McKale Center. Arizona won 86-68. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 16, 2014; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller and assistant coaches Damon Stoudamire and Book Richardson sit on the bench during the second half against the Cal State Northridge Matadors at McKale Center. Arizona won 86-68. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto Raptors: Damon Stoudamire, No. 7 pick, 1995 NBA Draft

It was a long time ago, but Damon Stoudamire was awesome in Toronto.

The expansion Raptors were a mess in an overall sense, but the 5-foot-10 point guard was easily the brightest star for Toronto in the infancy of the franchise. As a rookie (!) in 1995-1996, Stoudamire played in 70 games and averaged 40.9 minutes per contest, exercising an immense workload for any player. In that time, he put up 19.0 points, 9.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and in the following season, Stoudamire posted 20.2 points, 8.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game over an 81-game sample.

Granted, the Raptors leaned heavily on Stoudamire, and he was never able to replicate those numbers elsewhere, but that isn’t his fault. Stoudamire played for more than a decade with a scoring average of 13.4 points per game and a very nice 36 percent clip from three, and he was extremely valuable in establishing credibility for a young franchise.

Toronto has made better picks (Vince Carter, for instance), but Stoudamire gets lost in the shuffle that really shouldn’t be the case given what he brought to Canada’s team in the late 1990’s.

Next: Utah Jazz

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