NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 638 The Strongest Second-Round Draft Pick in History

The Nuggets' management is absolutely capable, at least in terms of vision. Trading away Nurkic, one of the two European big men with a higher draft pick and better immediate impact at the time, to focus on developing second-round pick Jokic, required immense courage and decisiveness. While there are certainly hidden gems in second-round drafts, not every second-round pick has potential, and not everyone can develop into someone like Manu Ginobili.

This list highlights some of the most outstanding second-round picks in NBA history, including Jia Fei and Jokic. Besides them, there's also Millsap, currently on the Denver Nuggets and formerly with the Atlanta Hawks. Millsap, also a former teammate of Jia Fei, was another second-round pick. He famously scored 11 points in the final 28 seconds against the Miami Heat's Big Three in 2010, finishing with a total of 46 points to defeat the Heat. He was a four-time All-Star and an All-Defensive Team selection, averaging 18.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1 block per game in his peak season.

Besides Jaren, another well-known player is Jaap de Grizzlies' younger brother, Jaap de Grizzlies. He was selected 18th overall in the second round of the 2007 draft. After being drafted by the Lakers, he was used as trade bait to acquire his brother. At 22 years old, he was considered an older rookie, hence the relatively low draft position. As a traditional center, he possessed well-rounded skills, leading the Grizzlies to multiple playoff appearances and winning Defensive Player of the Year awards. He was a three-time All-Star, with his peak season averaging 19.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.

Both Milwaukee and Gasol are second-round picks and are currently active. There are other outstanding second-round picks currently active, such as Draymond Green, the villainous Danny Green of Golden State.

Draymond Green's excellence needs little elaboration, though many attribute his success to his brother's influence. While he can certainly be a pivot on offense with his brother's off-ball movement, his defensive prowess is undeniable. This historic defensive ability won't change depending on which team he plays for. He's not a pure center; he's a forward, capable of guarding multiple positions. Such players are always in demand, but the small-ball era has amplified his strengths, making him incredibly valuable.

Besides these active players, we must also mention the retired ones. First, there's "Agent Zero," Gilbert Arenas. Arenas was the second overall pick in the 2001 draft. Scouts indicated that Arenas lacked the ability to play point guard, and was too short for shooting guard, plus he was ball-hogging. Actually, he was somewhat unlucky in his time. Back then, shooting guards were generally wing-like figures like Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. I had watched games in my previous life; shooting guards were modeled after Michael Jordan's physique. Players like Allen Iverson were absolute outliers. At that time, shooting guards primarily relied on two-way mid-range jumpers, unlike the current trend of pick-and-roll three-pointers and driving-to-the-basket offense.

If Arenas were still in this league, he would be an upgraded version of Mitchell, an absolute scoring champion in pick-and-roll offense, and wouldn't have been criticized or relentlessly targeted because of his height. Even so, he delivered star-level performances in his fourth year, and in his fifth season, he averaged 29.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2 steals per game. Although his career was later ruined by his ball-handling stunts, it's undeniable that he remains the same player, a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs, and a mentor to Morant…

PS: Arenas: "Hey Ja, I had a gun before you did. This is all old news to me..."

Besides the General, there is another retired player that many younger fans may not know: "The Worm" Rodman.

Yes, that's right, Rodman was also a second-round pick, but he was drafted a long time ago, before many fans were even born! 1986 was a weak draft year, and Rodman was only selected third overall in the second round. Back then, the requirements for power forwards were at least 206cm tall, and centers were definitely 7 feet tall or taller. Rodman was only 2 meters tall, which was considered short even for the power forward position. Moreover, his offensive ability was quite average; he was selected based on his outstanding athleticism. He didn't receive much attention early in his career. After joining the Pistons, he was molded into a tough and dirty player by the Bad Boys, showcasing his dominance on rebounding and defense. Despite his short stature, he won seven rebounding titles, demonstrating excellent rebounding vision. He helped the Pistons win two championships, and later helped the Bulls win three more, also earning two Defensive Player of the Year awards. In his peak season, he averaged 9.8 points, 18.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks, demonstrating phenomenal rebounding ability.

Nowadays, when many people talk about rebounding kings, Dennis Rodman immediately comes to mind, which shows how profound his rebounding skills are.

If all the outstanding second-round draft picks, both active and retired, were to be ranked, then without a doubt, Jia Fei would be the undisputed number one. As for whether anyone will surpass him, that's hard to say; it's likely many years before such a player does emerge.

Jia Fei currently has 4 MVPs, 3 championships, and 3 MVPs. Whether he can break into the league's top 10 is uncertain, but he's definitely a top 15. If he can lead his team to another championship this season and win both the MVP and Finals MVP, that would be 5 MVPs, 4 championships, and 4 Finals MVPs, making him a solid top 10 player in history.

While Jokic may not have as many accolades as Jia Fei, he is still one of the strongest second-round picks in league history. This head-to-head matchup between the two second-round picks is highly anticipated.

Compared to the Clippers' easy 4-0 sweeps, the Nuggets' path to the finals was much more difficult, but they still made it to the Western Conference Finals and could become the Clippers' biggest rival in their title defense this season.

On September 17, Coach Buden approached Jia Fei as before to discuss the match plan.

Coach Buden and his coaching staff would arrange the basic game plan. He mainly sought out Jia Fei to confirm one thing: the strategy for defending against Jokic.

If the Nuggets are a snake, then Jokic is its head. To defeat this team, limiting the snake's head is paramount. In philosophical terms, it's about addressing the principal contradiction.

"Jay, do we need to use the big lineup?" Coach Buden asked. He wanted to use the big lineup, but they had played very well with a small lineup in the last series, and changing the lineup might cause some dissatisfaction among the players. He was a very cautious coach and didn't want to cause discontent among the players by changing the lineup, as this could weaken the team's fighting power. He had to consider this aspect.

"Of course, the opponent has a superstar center like Nikola Jokic, so there's no need for us to use a small lineup and go all out in the first game. That would be too exhausting for us!" Jia Fei wasn't rigid. A small lineup could certainly be used, but that's for desperate situations. If the opponent has a superstar center and we still use a small lineup, then we're really underestimating them.