now what I mean on this question is, compared to how good the player is now and the number he was chosen in the draft. for example, Carlos Boozer was a big steal going in 2nd round, but he is not the biggest ever. in my opinion its Kobe. he was chosen 13th overall and then traded!!!! thats the biggest ever considering that he is the best player in the NBA.
Randy Smith was picked in the seventh round in the 1971 draft and had a career average of 16.7 ppg
Active:
Manu Ginobili was drafted 57th overall in 1999 by the Spurs
All Time:
George Gervin in 1974 was a third rounder back when they had that many rounds. He was drafted 40th in the 3rd round
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Ginobili
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gervin
the biggest steal might of been the bulls getting Michael Jordan th overal in 1984. The greatest player ever not being the number 1 overall pick has to be thought of as a steal for the bulls.
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Randy Smith was picked in the seventh round in the 1971 draft and had a career average of 16.7 ppg
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Will Purdue!
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he can also see russia from his house.
Gilbert Arenas and Michael Redd were 2nd round picks, and are now "the man" for their respective ball clubs
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Big Ben Wallace
not even drafted
is that still a steal?
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Andrea Bustnani
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monta ellis…
right out of high school….he went 40th overall in 2005, now he is THE fastest guy in the NBA, ‘06-’07 most improved player, and shot over 60% last year in the month of february…. AS A GUARD…. he is beast
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Kobe Bryant, no doubt. How often do you get a possible top 3 player of all time with the 13th pick. That and the fact that all the Lakers had to give up to get Kobe from Charlotte was Vlade Divac.
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