The 16 best 16th picks ever in the NBA Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
With the NBA draft coming up next Wednesday and Thursday, the Sixers own the 16th and 41st overall picks.
Following our look back at the 41 best picks in NBA history, here’s a look at the 16 best players ever at No. 16 (in no particular order):
John Stockton
Stockton followed his four years at Gonzaga by making 19 straight appearances for the Jazz. He remains the NBA’s all-time leader in both steals and assists.
Metta Sandiford-Artest
The 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year was known as Ron Artest when the Bulls drafted him 15 picks after Elton Brand. It certainly wasn’t the most stable or smooth career, but Artest was a fantastic defender, an unforgettable character and an NBA champion.
Dana Barros
Before Tyrese Maxey came along, Barros was the Sixers’ single Most Improved Player. The 6-foot-4 Boston College product shot a career-high 41.1 percent from three-point range and knocked down nine triples against the Suns on Jan. 27, 1995. Danny Green and Maxey have since tied that franchise record.
Brevin Knight
Another sub-6-foot guard here in Knight, who led the league in totals, is stealing his rookie year. He played for nine teams during his twelve seasons.
Nikola Vucevic
The Sixers drafted Vučević with the pick after Kawhi Leonard in the 2011 draft. The big man failed to crack Doug Collins’ playoff rotation as a rookie, was traded to the Magic in the Sixers deal for Andrew Bynum and was eventually a (two-time) All-Star.
Tony Delk
Delk went between Steve Nash and Jermaine O’Neal in the incredible 1996 draft. He split his 545-game NBA career between eight teams and dropped 53 points on January 2, 2001.
Jim Price
Price started his career as a point guard alongside Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain for the defending champion Lakers. He made an All-Star Game in 1974-75 when he averaged 16.1 points, 5.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals.
Hedo Turkoglu
The NBA’s first Turkish-born player was a highly skilled 6-10 forward who was happy to have the ball in his hands. Türkoğlu was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2007–08 season and played a crucial role in the Magic’s Eastern Conference title the following year.
Alperen Şengün
Turkish big man Şengün made a big splash last year in his third NBA season, using clever fakes, footwork and touch to average 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Rockets.
Swen Nater
Nater’s remarkable story includes a stretch that saw him star at Cypress College, support Bill Walton at UCLA and win the ABA’s Rookie of the Year award. The Dutch center led the NBA with 15.0 rebounds per game in the 1979-80 season.
“Scary Terry” came off the bench for the first 164 games of his NBA career and then posted a triple-double in his very first start. Rozier scored 20 points per game during his four and a half years with the Hornets and is now on his third team on the Heat.
Terry Mills
Mills became one of the original stretch fours during his prime with the Pistons, shooting 38.4 percent from behind the arc in his career.
Rikey Green
Known as “The Fastest of them All,” Green earned an All-Star spot in the 1983-84 season and led the NBA with 2.7 steals per game. At age 36, Green was the starting point guard for the Sixers from 1990-1991.
Ricky Sobers
As a rookie, Sobers played for the 1975-76 Western Conference champion Suns (and battled Warriors superstar Rick Barry early in Game 7 of the West Finals). “The Super-Sub” averaged 13.3 points and 4.3 assists in 821 NBA games.
Chris Gatling
Gatling was an NBA journeyman who made an All-Star appearance in 1997. The 6-10 lefty played 85 games (45 with the Magic, 40 with the Nuggets) in the 1999-2000 season.
Denver got Nurkić in a 2014 draft-night trade … and also selected fellow big man Nikola Jokić at No. 41. Nurkić topped the NBA in total rebounding percentage last year in his first season as a Sun.
