7 recent NBA lottery picks who are already out of the league

3. Thon Maker, Milwaukee Bucks (No. 10, 2016 NBA Draft)

Thon Maker presented a very interesting case when he entered the draft in 2016. Born in South Sudan, Maker moved to Australia at the age of 14, and then to the United States for his high school career, and played himself into a five-star recruitment ranking.

However, Maker never attended college, and entered the NBA Draft straight out of high school, a process that involved graduating in 2015 and then staying in high school for a gap year, which enabled him to be eligible for the draft at 19 years old, though there were rumors that he was actually a few years older than his claimed age.

Having experienced the rapid rise of another foreign player in Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks took a swing with Maker, making him the 10th overall pick. He was an excellent athlete for his size, standing 7-foot, 221 pounds with the potential to be a very effective modern big.

That potential never materialized, however, and Maker was shipped off to the Detroit Pistons midway through his third year. Despite having more opportunities with the rebuilding Pistsons, Maker was unable to develop, and he last stepped on an NBA court with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2020-2021, where he averaged just 9.5 minutes across eight games.

Since then, Maker has played in Israel, the G League, and is currently in China.