Best draft picks in San Antonio Spurs history
The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.
Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.
With that in mind, 黑料社 compiled a list of the best draft picks in San Antonio Spurs history using data from . Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's , career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their 黑料社 score.
Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy r茅sum茅 for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.
#32. Greg Anderson
- 黑料社 score: 1.1
- 23rd overall pick in 1987
- Played four seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 7.3 PTS, 6.2 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 18.7 win shares, -3.0 box plus/minus, -3.7 VORP
#31. Tre Jones
- 黑料社 score: 1.1
- 41st overall pick in 2020
- Played three seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 7.9 PTS, 2.4 REB, 4.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 6.7 win shares, -1.0 box plus/minus, 0.8 VORP
#30. Reggie Johnson
- 黑料社 score: 1.2
- 15th overall pick in 1980
- Played two seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 4.1 REB, 0.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 11.0 win shares, -2.4 box plus/minus, -0.5 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1983 NBA Champ
#29. Devin Vassell
- 黑料社 score: 1.3
- 11th overall pick in 2020
- Played three seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 11.2 PTS, 3.7 REB, 1.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 6.1 win shares, -0.5 box plus/minus, 1.6 VORP
#28. Larry Krystkowiak
- 黑料社 score: 1.4
- 28th overall pick in 1986
- Played one season with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 8.2 PTS, 4.9 REB, 1.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 15.6 win shares, -2.7 box plus/minus, -1.6 VORP
#27. Keldon Johnson
- 黑料社 score: 1.8
- 29th overall pick in 2019
- Played four seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 16.5 PTS, 5.6 REB, 2.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 10.5 win shares, -1.2 box plus/minus, 1.4 VORP
#26. DeJuan Blair
- 黑料社 score: 2.9
- 37th overall pick in 2009
- Played four seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 6.8 PTS, 5.1 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 19.0 win shares, -1.2 box plus/minus, 1.4 VORP
#25. Ian Mahinmi
- 黑料社 score: 3.4
- 28th overall pick in 2005
- Played two seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 5.2 PTS, 4.4 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 26.1 win shares, -2.0 box plus/minus, 0.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2011 NBA Champ
#24. D膩vis Bert膩ns
- 黑料社 score: 3.9
- 42nd overall pick in 2011
- Played three seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 7.8 PTS, 2.5 REB, 1.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 17.8 win shares, 0.3 box plus/minus, 4.6 VORP
#23. Johnny Dawkins
- 黑料社 score: 4.2
- 10th overall pick in 1986
- Played three seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 11.1 PTS, 2.5 REB, 5.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.8 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 4.2 VORP
#22. Chris Whitney
- 黑料社 score: 4.3
- 47th overall pick in 1993
- Played two seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 6.5 PTS, 1.4 REB, 2.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.2 win shares, -0.2 box plus/minus, 4.6 VORP
#21. Tiago Splitter
- 黑料社 score: 5.1
- 28th overall pick in 2007
- Played five seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 7.9 PTS, 5.0 REB, 1.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 25.3 win shares, 1.1 box plus/minus, 5.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2014 NBA Champ
#20. Vernon Maxwell
- 黑料社 score: 5.3
- 47th overall pick in 1988
- Played three seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 12.8 PTS, 2.6 REB, 3.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 27.4 win shares, -1.2 box plus/minus, 5.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
#19. Cory Joseph
- 黑料社 score: 5.3
- 29th overall pick in 2011
- Played four seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 7.1 PTS, 2.5 REB, 3.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 30.5 win shares, -1.1 box plus/minus, 4.0 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.0%
- Accolades
--- 2014 NBA Champ
#18. Derrick White
- 黑料社 score: 5.6
- 29th overall pick in 2017
- Played five seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 11.7 PTS, 3.4 REB, 3.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 22.7 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 7.9 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2022-23 All-Defensive
#17. John Paxson
- 黑料社 score: 5.7
- 19th overall pick in 1983
- Played two seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 7.2 PTS, 1.2 REB, 3.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 36.3 win shares, -1.3 box plus/minus, 3.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 3x NBA Champ
#16. Beno Udrih
- 黑料社 score: 5.7
- 28th overall pick in 2004
- Played three seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 2.1 REB, 3.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 31.4 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 4.9 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
#15. Dejounte Murray
- 黑料社 score: 6.1
- 29th overall pick in 2016
- Played five seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 14.0 PTS, 5.9 REB, 5.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.1 win shares, 1.6 box plus/minus, 9.9 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2021-22 STL Champ
--- 2017-18 All-Defensive
--- 1x All Star
#14. Willie Anderson
- 黑料社 score: 6.5
- 10th overall pick in 1988
- Played seven seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 12.2 PTS, 3.8 REB, 3.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 27.9 win shares, 0.1 box plus/minus, 8.6 VORP
#13. Gerald Henderson
- 黑料社 score: 6.6
- 64th overall pick in 1978
- Career averages: 8.9 PTS, 1.7 REB, 3.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 32.1 win shares, -0.5 box plus/minus, 7.3 VORP
- Accolades
--- 3x NBA Champ
#12. Gene Banks
- 黑料社 score: 7.0
- 28th overall pick in 1981
- Played four seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 11.3 PTS, 5.8 REB, 2.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 31.2 win shares, 0.7 box plus/minus, 8.7 VORP
#11. Luis Scola
- 黑料社 score: 8.1
- 56th overall pick in 2002
- Career averages: 12.0 PTS, 6.7 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 45.7 win shares, -0.7 box plus/minus, 6.4 VORP
#10. Kyle Anderson
- 黑料社 score: 8.3
- 30th overall pick in 2014
- Played four seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 7.0 PTS, 4.5 REB, 2.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 32.1 win shares, 1.9 box plus/minus, 12.2 VORP
#9. Tyrone Corbin
- 黑料社 score: 11.4
- 35th overall pick in 1985
- Played two seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 9.2 PTS, 4.7 REB, 1.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 56.5 win shares, -0.3 box plus/minus, 12.0 VORP
#8. Sean Elliott
- 黑料社 score: 11.8
- Third overall pick in 1989
- Played 11 seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 14.2 PTS, 4.3 REB, 2.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 55.7 win shares, 0.2 box plus/minus, 13.5 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1999 NBA Champ
--- 2x All Star
#7. George Hill
- 黑料社 score: 15.8
- 26th overall pick in 2008
- Played three seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 10.4 PTS, 3.0 REB, 3.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 71.0 win shares, 1.1 box plus/minus, 19.4 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.1%
#6. Alvin Robertson
- 黑料社 score: 18.0
- Seventh overall pick in 1984
- Played five seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 14.0 PTS, 5.2 REB, 5.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 52.1 win shares, 2.6 box plus/minus, 28.3 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 9.4%
- Accolades
--- 1985-86 Def. POY
--- 3x STL Champ
--- 1985-86 All-NBA
--- 6x All-Defensive
#5. Kawhi Leonard
- 黑料社 score: 39.7
- 15th overall pick in 2011
- Played seven seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 19.6 PTS, 6.4 REB, 3.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 90.4 win shares, 6.8 box plus/minus, 43.9 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 77.7%
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
--- 2x Finals MVP
--- 2x Def. POY
--- 2014-15 STL Champ
#4. Manu Gin贸bili
- 黑料社 score: 40.1
- 57th overall pick in 1999
- Played 16 seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 13.3 PTS, 3.5 REB, 3.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 106.4 win shares, 5.0 box plus/minus, 47.6 VORP
- Accolades
--- 4x NBA Champ
--- 2x All-NBA
--- 2x All Star
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
#3. Tony Parker
- 黑料社 score: 40.3
- 28th overall pick in 2001
- Played 17 seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 15.5 PTS, 2.7 REB, 5.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 111.3 win shares, 1.1 box plus/minus, 30.1 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 93.9%
- Accolades
--- 4x NBA Champ
--- 2006-07 Finals MVP
--- 4x All-NBA
--- 6x All Star
#2. David Robinson
- 黑料社 score: 67.8
- First overall pick in 1987
- Played 14 seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 21.1 PTS, 10.6 REB, 2.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 178.7 win shares, 7.5 box plus/minus, 81.9 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
--- 1994-95 MVP
--- 1991-92 Def. POY
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
#1. Tim Duncan
- 黑料社 score: 74.6
- First overall pick in 1997
- Played 19 seasons with San Antonio Spurs
- Career averages: 19.0 PTS, 10.8 REB, 3.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 206.4 win shares, 5.6 box plus/minus, 91.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 5x NBA Champ
--- 2x MVP
--- 3x Finals MVP
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
