The Toronto Raptors are still in the middle of celebrating their stroke of good fortune, as the team with the seventh-best odds to earn the top selection in the 2021 NBA Draft managed to secure the No. 4 pick in this class.
However, that isn’t the only piece of draft capital the team will have to work with, as trading away two underperforming guards in Terence Davis and Matt Thomas helped them earn the No. 46 and No. 47 picks in the draft after prying them sway from Sacramento and Utah.
While the middle of the second round is often considered a bit of a dead zone, as countless picks have been wasted on international players who never come to North America or players that bounce around the G League for a few years, Toronto has a golden opportunity to add some talent at this point in the draft.
These 10 players prove that even with a pick as low as No. 46 or No. 47 in the draft, it’s possible to select an award-winning player and All-Star fixture if your front office is skilled enough at evaluating talent.
Toronto Raptors: Top 10 No. 46/47 draft picks of all time
Honorable Mentions
Norman Powell (No. 46, 2015) will WITHOUT QUESTION rise up this list in the coming years. However, Norm will need to pull off one or two more seasons of high-quality scoring production before he can officially end up that high.
Really gonna give Norman Powell that much space...? pic.twitter.com/Y4b83NK7UI
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 20, 2021
Former Raptor Alvin Williams (No. 47, 1997) was a very consistent, scrappy guard for a decade, and Matt Barnes (No. 46, 2002) was a quality defender, shooter, and locker room presence for 14 seasons all across the league, but these 10 players just beat them out ever so slightly.
10. Danny Green (No. 46, 2009)
The North Carolina product has bounced around the league some, as his early days in Cleveland helped land him a premier gig as a shooter on some elite Spurs teams. Green has since followed that up with excellent seasons on the Raptors, Lakers, and 76ers in that exact 3-and-D role.
Green has averaged 9.0 points per game, and his 42% field goal percentage and 40% success rate from beyond the 3-point line speak to what kind of player he can be on offense. He also has an All-Defensive team nomination to his name.
Green may never have put up elite scoring production, but one need only look at his three championships, one of which came in Toronto, to see what he can bring to a team eyeing a title. That blend of shooting and defense will help Green extend his NBA career well into his 30s.