The NBA is a star-driven league, and the players who turn out to be those stars are usually taken very high in the NBA Draft. Very rarely do players picked outside the lottery (picks 1-14) turn out to become the top players in the league.
However, there are exceptions to every rule, and there have been several notable draft steals over the years who have risen to incredible heights despite their lowly draft status.
Read on below as SBOTOP highlights five such players over the last decade who have become significantly better players than their draft position suggests.
5. Jimmy Butler – No. 30 overall in 2011
The 2011 NBA Draft will go down in history as having some of the most memorable draft steals ever, and Jimmy Butler is the first of two entries in this list from that class.
Drafted No. 30 overall – the last pick in the first round – Butler had a relentless work ethic and essentially built himself into a star. He improved all aspects of his game, to the point where he was an All-Star for three straight seasons.
But despite his incredible improvement, the Bulls didn’t believe Butler could be good enough to be the best player in a championship contender, so they traded him away. But he proved them wrong as he led the Miami Heat all the way to the NBA Finals in the Orlando bubble back in the 2019-20 season.
While Butler fell short of the title, that Finals run only strengthened his case as one of the top draft steals of the decade.
4. Kawhi Leonard – No. 15 overall in 2011
The San Antonio Spurs were one of the top teams in the NBA for two decades because they made some of the most notable draft steals in history, and the Leonard pick was the last great steal during their dynastic run.
Acquired in a trade with the Indiana Pacers for George Hill, Leonard was taken just outside the lottery in that 2011 draft. He was a physical specimen with great athletic gifts and monstrously huge hands, but he had an unrefined game and could not shoot. But the Spurs took that diamond in the rough and helped turn him into one of the brightest stars in the entire league.
Leonard got better with each passing year. He won Defensive Player of the Year twice and also helped the Spurs win 2014 NBA title, where he named Finals MVP.
And after his acrimonious exit in San Antonio, Leonard won another title and Finals MVP trophy with the Toronto Raptors to truly cement himself not just as one of best draft steals of alltime, but also one of the best players of all time.
3. Draymond Green – No. 35 overall in 2012
The three cornerstones of the Warriors’ dynasty – Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green – are all incredible draft steals, but Green is still the biggest of them all. He had obvious deficiencies coming out of college with his small size and lack of elite athleticism, which is why he fell to the second round.
But the Warriors took him anyway, and he turned out to be a transformational player for them. Green’s uncanny defence and playmaking abilities while playing centre fueled their famous ‘Death Lineup’, which was crucial to their success.
Green’s career could have unfolded very differently had he not landed in the perfect situation in Golden State, which makes his story all the more remarkable.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – No. 15 overall in 2013
The 2013 NBA Draft is widely regarded as the worst in recent memory, but it did produce one of the biggest draft surprises of the decade in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Milwaukee Bucks took a big roll of the dice by taking a lanky Greek teenager with their 15th pick. While there was enormous bust potential because of his limited skill level, there were also signs that he could be something special given his athletic gifts. But not even the Bucks could have ever imagined their gamble would pay off as well as it has.
From a skinny kid who had the faint potential for greatness, Giannis has since grown up to become the ‘Greek Freak’, a two-time NBA MVP and the undisputed leader of the Bucks, who are top championship contenders. The NBA 2021 odds have Milwaukee favoured to make the Finals for the first time since 1974.
And while other draft steals like Butler and Leonard have already left their teams, Giannis just signed a new contract and looks happy to call Milwaukee home for a long time to come.
1. Nikola Jokic – No. 41 overall in 2014
It needed something special to bump Giannis from his spot as the biggest draft steal of the decade, but Jokic has indeed been something special, especially in the 2020-21 season.
The big Serb made history by becoming the lowest drafted player to win the NBA regular season MVP award, and it was well-deserved too given his many amazing NBA 2021 highlights.
While Jokic had talent as a teenager, there were concerns about his commitment to the game and his physical tools, particularly his pudgy body and subpar athleticism. But the Nuggets drafted him anyway, and Jokic quickly made them look like geniuses who unearthed a gem shortly after his arrival to the NBA a year later.
With his combination of size, terrific shooting, and otherworldly passing, Jokic is quite possibly one of, if not the most talented big men ever to play in the league – and he’s just 26 years old. And after taking the leap into MVP-calibre status this season, Jokic looks set to be the poster boy of draft steals for years to come.
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