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Every year, the NBA draft is an opportunity for teams to reshape their rosters. A lucky few might even find a franchise cornerstone. It doesn't always require a high lottery pick, either.
Although Michael Jordan, LeBron James and other all-time greats came off their draft boards within the first few picks, a number of current and future Hall of Famers were selected far later in their respective drafts. With that in mind, we've set out to rank the NBA's biggest draft steals of all time.
In 2009, Justin Kubatko of Basketball Reference came up with a formula for the expected number of career win shares for each draft pick. Unsurprisingly, that number quickly begins to plummet outside of the top few picks. Players selected in the final few picks of the second round are barely expected to make an impact whatsoever.
The specifics of that formula have likely changed in the 16 years since Kubatko originally produced it, but we'll use it as a rough template to determine the overall value of a draft steal here. In other words, players get bonus points if they were mid-to-late second-round picks and wound up having long, successful NBA careers.
A handful of active players made the cut here, although a few others could eventually join them. In particular, Pascal Siakam was one win in the 2025 NBA Finals away from having a legitimate top-10 case.
There's still time for Siakam and other current players to continue padding their career resumes. But for now, here's a look at the biggest draft steals in NBA history heading into the 2025 draft.
Honorable mention: Rudy Gobert
Drafted: 27th overall, 2013
Rudy Gobert was a total afterthought as a rookie after the Utah Jazz selected him with the No. 27 overall pick in 2013. He appeared in only 45 games and averaged 2.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in a mere 9.6 minutes per outing.
However, it quickly became apparent what a defensive game-changer he could be. He finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in his second season, which began an eight-year run of him finishing no lower than seventh in that race. He won three DPOYs over that stretch, and he added another in 2023-24 for good measure.
Gobert has four career All-NBA nods and three All-Star selections along with eight All-Defensive team appearances. Although he does his best work defensively around the basket, using his 7-foot frame to deter any and all challengers at the rim, he's surprisingly versatile for a nearly 260-pound center and can guard out to the perimeter at times as well.
Gobert doesn't provide much offense unless he's a few feet away from the basket, which contributed to his getting played off the floor at times in the playoffs. But few players in NBA history have been as dominant as him defensively, which makes him an all-time great draft value.
Just missed the cut: Marc Gasol (48th overall in 2007), Paul Millsap (47th overall in 2006)
10. Draymond Green
Drafted: 35th overall, 2012
Draymond Green is the most unique player featured here. His career averages of 8.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game fail to properly quantify the impact he's had on the NBA over the past decade.
Facing a 2-1 series deficit in Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Finals, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to bench starting center Andrew Bogut and shift the 6'6" Green over to be his nominal big man. The Warriors reeled off three straight wins thanks to the "Death Lineup," and the rest was history.
Green proceeded to earn four All-Star nods, two All-NBA appearances and the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year award, along with nine All-Defensive team selections. He also served as the defensive fulcrum for three more championship-winning teams over the ensuing decade.
Although the mid-2010s Warriors weren't the first team to try out small-ball lineups—shout-out to the legendary Don Nelson—Green's versatility inspired a wave of copycats throughout the NBA. While the former No. 35 overall pick has never been a high-volume scorer, his positive impact on both ends of the floor makes him an all-time great draft steal regardless.
9. Jimmy Butler
Drafted: 30th overall, 2011
Jimmy Butler barely saw the floor as a rookie with the Chicago Bulls in 2011-12. But by his third NBA season, it was quickly becoming apparent that they landed a major steal with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2011 draft.
Butler earned his first of four straight All-Star nods in his fourth season, along with the Most Improved Player award. His career took some unexpected turns from there courtesy of trades to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers, although he found another long-term home with the Miami Heat via a sign-and-trade in 2019.
During his five-plus seasons in South Beach, Butler earned three All-NBA nods and two All-Star selections, and he guided the Heat to two NBA Finals across a four-year span. Although he has yet to win a title, the legend of "Playoff Jimmy" alone would merit a spot for him in these rankings.
Butler still could add to his resume as well, provided he stays healthy. After getting traded to the Warriors in February, he'll now be paired with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green for the next two years as they pursue one final championship together.
8. Dennis Rodman
Drafted: 27th overall, 1986
Back in 1986, the first round of the NBA draft featured only 24 picks. That allowed the Detroit Pistons to scoop up Dennis Rodman with the No. 27 overall pick early in the second round. Two years later, they proceeded to win back-to-back championships with him.
Rodman was never much of an offensive presence during his 14-year NBA career, but he made his impact felt early and often on defense. He won Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons at the beginning of the 1990s and earned eight straight All-Defensive team nods for the better part of that decade.
Starting in 1991-92, Rodman wound up leading the NBA in rebounds for seven straight seasons. The San Antonio Spurs traded him to the Chicago Bulls in October 1995 for Will Perdue, and he immediately proceeded to help Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen pull off their second three-peat over the ensuing three seasons.
Rodman is one of the lowest-drafted players since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 to become a Hall of Famer. While his limited offensive impact and, erm, eccentricity prevent him from rising much higher in these rankings, his career-long defensive dominance and importance to the late-1980s Pistons and mid-1990s Bulls earn him a spot.
7. Tony Parker
Drafted: 28th overall, 2001
Choosing which of Tony Parker and Dennis Rodman should be ranked higher here is the ultimate exercise in splitting hairs.
Rodman has one more championship than Parker, who won four with the San Antonio Spurs during his 18-year NBA career. Parker has far more All-Star nods (six) and All-NBA selections (four) than Rodman (two apiece), although he has none of Rodman's defensive accolades. Parker does have the 2006-07 Finals MVP award on his resume, though.
It's easy to forget how brilliant Parker was at his peak. He never put up massive numbers, although that was largely because the Spurs were at the forefront of load management long before the rest of the league caught on. Parker did finish in the top 10 of regular-season MVP voting in four separate seasons, though, and he averaged at least 16 points and five assists per game for an entire decade straight.
Tim Duncan was the fulcrum of those title-winning Spurs teams, but every great big man needs a point guard who can get him the ball in his preferred spots. Parker was that guy, which was an incredible value for a No. 28 overall pick.
6. Steve Nash
Drafted: 15th overall, 1996
Most players featured here were drafted either late in the first round or in the second round. Steve Nash is one of the few exceptions to that rule, as the Phoenix Suns selected him with the No. 15 overall pick in the legendary 1996 NBA draft, two picks after the Los Angeles Lakers took some guy named "Kobe Bryant."
Nash didn't rack up championships like the Black Mamba, but he did win MVPs in back-to-back years after joining head coach Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix. There's a clear throughline between "Seven Seconds or Less" Suns and today's pace-and-space-oriented NBA, which Nash and D'Antoni are largely responsible for.
Nash never averaged 20 points per game in a season, but he did lead the league in assists five times over a seven-year span while earning seven All-Star nods and eight All-NBA appearances. He's also 11th on the all-time three-point percentage leaderboard, as he drilled 42.8 percent of his shots from deep across his 18-year career. That puts him two spots ahead of some guy named "Stephen Curry."
Although Nash retired ring-less, his transformational impact on the NBA and his peak in the mid-2000s still earned him a spot among the all-time biggest draft steals.
5. John Stockton
Drafted: 16th overall, 1984
Like Nash, John Stockton was a mid-first-round pick. The player selected directly before him in the 1984 NBA draft, Terence Stansbury, played only 192 games in three seasons before washing out of the league. Jeff Turner, who went one pick after Stockton, logged 612 games across 10 NBA seasons, although he never averaged more than 8.6 points or 5.1 rebounds per game in any of those campaigns.
Stockton, meanwhile, went on to earn 10 All-Star nods, 11 All-NBA selections and five All-Defensive team nods. He also led the NBA in assists nine times and led the league in steals twice. If not for Michael Jordan and the legendary 1990s Chicago Bulls, Stockton might have won back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998.
Stockton has accrued by far the most win shares (207.7) out of any player in NBA history drafted outside of the lottery. He might not hold that record for much longer—two of the top three players featured here have a realistic chance of toppling him—but it speaks to the long-lasting impact he had on the Utah Jazz through the 1980s and 1990s.
His prime just happened to coincide with that of the greatest player of all time. Sad!
4. Manu Ginóbili
Drafted: 57th overall, 1999
According to Justin Kubatko's formula, there are basically zero expectations for late second-round picks to amount to anything. At best, you're typically getting a few win shares out of them.
Manu Ginóbili had other ideas. The No. 57 overall pick of the 1999 draft wound up earning two All-Star nods and two All-NBA selections despite coming off the bench for most of his career. He somehow won only one Sixth Man of the Year award across his 16-year career, although he did contribute to four San Antonio Spurs championships as well.
The flair with which Ginóbili played made him a perfect complement to gruff, no-nonsense Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Although they butted heads at times, Popovich grew to respect Ginóbili's passion for the game and willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of the team by continuing to come off the bench.
Although Ginóbili doesn't have as many individual accolades as John Stockton, Steve Nash or Jimmy Butler, he gets major bonus points in these rankings because of where he was drafted. No player selected with the No. 50 overall pick or later has anywhere close to as many career win shares as Ginóbili.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
Drafted: 15th overall, 2013
Leading up to the 2013 NBA draft, Giannis Antetokounmpo was the international man of mystery. His rapid development drew an increasing amount of attention from NBA decision-makers, but no one knew how good the skinny kid from lower-level competition in Greece would wind up becoming.
Antetokounmpo kept adding muscle to his rail-thin frame and quickly transformed from a curiosity into a future superstar. In his fourth NBA season, he earned the Most Improved Player award, finished seventh in MVP voting and earned his first of nine straight All-NBA and All-Star nods. Two years later, he won back-to-back MVPs.
Antetokounmpo's impact isn't limited to only offense, though. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 2019-20, finished as the runner-up the year prior and has been in the top 10 of voting for that award in every season since. He's also earned five All-Defensive selections throughout his 12-year NBA career.
In 2020-21, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years, which he punctuated with a 50-burger in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns. Although the Bucks have dealt with speculation on a near-annual basis about whether he'll eventually decide to force a trade, that's the price of business when you're dealing with an all-time NBA great.
Landing that caliber of player with the No. 15 overall pick in 2013 was legitimately franchise-changing for the Bucks.
2. Kobe Bryant
Drafted: 13th overall, 1996
Speaking of franchise-changing picks… where would the Los Angeles Lakers be if the Charlotte Hornets never traded the rights to Kobe Bryant during the 1996 NBA draft for Vlade Divac?
Bryant had a relatively inauspicious debut campaign, but he earned an All-Star nod in his second season and finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting as well. From that point forward, he received either an All-NBA or All-Star nod (if not both) in each of the ensuing 18 seasons.
Although Bryant won MVP only once, he finished in the top five of MVP voting in 10 (!) other seasons. He also helped the Lakers win three straight championships in the early 2000s and two more at the end of the decade. Pair that with his 12 All-Defensive selections and two Finals MVPs, and few players in NBA history were as impactful as Bryant.
Bryant's name routinely comes up in conversations about the best players in NBA history, almost all of whom were top-five picks. He has the fourth-most win shares of any player drafted outside of the top 10, trailing only Karl Malone, John Stockton and Reggie Miller.
You know what separates Bryant from that trio? Count the ringzzzzz.
1. Nikola Jokić
Drafted: 41st overall, 2014
When the Denver Nuggets selected Nikola Jokić with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft during a Taco Bell commercial, no one could have realistically foreseen how the next decade would unfold.
Jokić stayed overseas in 2014-15, but he quickly make an impact upon joining the Nuggets the following season. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015-16, and he averaged a well-rounded 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in his sophomore campaign, which led the Nuggets to move Jusuf Nurkić at that year's trade deadline.
With Nurkić no longer in the fold, Jokić quickly cemented himself as one of the league's brightest rising stars. He has earned All-Star and All-NBA nods in each of the past seven seasons, and he won three MVP awards in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2023-24. He also finished second in the MVP race in 2022-23 and 2024-25, so he's widely been considered one of the NBA's two best players for five years running.
This past season, Jokić became only the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double across an entire year, joining Russell Westbrook (who did it four times) and Oscar Robertson (who did it once in 1961-62). He also guided the Nuggets to their first championship in franchise history in 2022-23.
Jokić is the lowest-drafted player in NBA history to win regular-season MVP or Finals MVP, which makes him the clear-cut biggest draft steal ever.