Toronto Raptors: Top 10 No. 46 and 47 overall picks in NBA Draft history

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.

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.

9. Voshon Lenard (No. 46, 1994)

A high school teammate of Jalen Rose who becomes the all-time leading scorer at Minnesota, Lenard spent his career as a solid role player on some Pat Riley-led Heat teams before sniping teams to death in Denver.

Lenard averaged 11.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, making his mark on the league as one of the best shooters and perimeter defenders the game had to offer for a period of time. Slow-paced offenses in Miami and some bad Denver teams overshadowed his solid NBA career.

Lenard’s best seasons came on some poor Nuggets teams, but his numbers are up there with some of the better tertiary scoring options of his era. Toronto would love having a player with Lenard’s ability fall to them at 46.

8. Jordan Clarkson (No. 46, 2014)

His career in Los Angeles and Cleveland made Clarkson look like a quality role player with some holes in his game. With Utah, Clarkson has evolved into a lethal scorer that can take over games if he gets hot enough.

Clarkson’s 15.3 points per game average is the highest of any player picked in either of these two spots. Clarkson has evolved from a volume scorer on some bad Lakers teams into an indisposable weapon for one of the best teams in the league.

Clarkson’s 18.1 points per game this year made him a deserving 6MOTY winner, and his status as one of the best role players in the game continues to be solidified. Check back in a few years, and Clarkson may have wiggled his way into the top three, especially if Utah keeps winning.

7. Jerome Kersey (No. 46, 1984)

The late Kersey might’ve left us early at the age of 52, but that did little to overshadow what was a superb NBA career. Out of tiny Longwood University, Kersey embarked upon a career that almost spanned two decades.

While his long career impacted his per-game averages, Kersey’s 11 years in Portland helped create some pretty impressive stats, like his 12.1 points per game (including a career-high 19.2 in 1987), 5.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.

Portland fans will remember him as a wily defender and solid scorer that helped some good Clyde Drexler teams get over the top and make it to the postseason. That more than exceeded the expectations placed on him.

6. Gerald Wilkins (No. 47, 1985)

While the Chattanooga alum isn’t the same player as brother Dominique, Gerald put up some very impressive numbers on the pre-Riley Knicks, serving as the outside counterpart to Patrick Ewing inside.

Wilkins averaged 13.0 points and 3.5 assists per game in his career, but that scoring average jumps to 14.9 when you look at his seven-year career in New York. Ultimately, an Achilles injury ruined his career.

Wilkins averaged just 7.7 points per game after tearing his Achilles at the age of 30. If he was able to avoid that bad break, Wilkins would’ve shot up this list, as his ability to stuff a stat sheet was extremely impressive.

5. Mo Williams (No. 47, 2003)

While Williams is often remembered as an uninspiring co-star next to LeBron James during LBJ’s first run in Cleveland, that is a very harsh way to categorize his career, as the Alabama alum put up some quality offensive numbers during his prime.

Williams, a one-time All-Star, averaged 13.2 points and 4.8 assists per game during his career. From 2006-07 to 2011-12, which included stints with the Cavaliers, Bucks, and Clippers, Williams averaged 16.1 points per game on 45% shooting.

Williams’ legacy will be inexorably tied to James considering his role on LeBron’s final team, but his numbers depict a truly elite point guard. Hopefully, his career is looked back on in a very fond manner when it’s all said and done.

4. Vernon Maxwell (No. 47, 1988)

Much to the chagrin of the Utah fans that Maxwell despises with a burning passion, the Florida alum earns a high ranking on this list, as his perimeter play helped Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets win two championships in the 1990s.

Maxwell’s 12.8 points and 3.4 assists per game might not sound like earth-shaking numbers, but he has a vital role on those Rockets teams. Olajuwon and Houston were the clear best team in a Michael Jordan-less NBA, and Maxwell’s shooting and physicality on the perimeter helped that team in crunch time.

Maxwell’s career didn’t end in tremendous fashion, as a faked injury prompted a trade away from Houston, and he was never able to find the same success after leaving. Even with such a rocky end, his unforgettable start in the pros has him high on this list.

3. James Edwards (No. 46, 1977)

Edwards began his nearly two-decade career in the NBA on a Lakers team with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the star and Jerry West as the coach, became one of the first overpriced free agency signings in Cleveland in the early 80s, won some rings as a starter on the “Bad Boys” Pistons, and retired as a 40-year-old bench player on the famed 95-96 Bulls. What a ride.

The former Washington star averaged a respectable 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in his career, but those averaged can get pumped up to 14.3 points and 5.9 rebounds if you eschew his last five seasons as a ring-chaser.

Edwards brought plenty of muscle, interior finishing, and hard-nosed play to the game. Injuries may have prevented him from becoming a genuine star, but it’s hard to ask for more out of a player that was drafted where he was.

2. Jeff Hornacek (No. 46, 1986)

Like Edwards, Hornacek can also claim to have had one of the wildest rides in NBA history. After spending six seasons as one of the best shooters in the game in Phoenix, the Iowa State alum was flipped to Philadelphia in order to make Charles Barkley a Sun. Hornacek spent his final seven years in the pros as a starting guard on the John Stockon/Karl Malone Jazz.

Hornacek’s 14.5 points and 4.9 assists per game are impressive enough, but stats don’t tell the whole story. He was so dominant in Phoenix that the 76ers made him the centerpiece of a Barkley trade, and he was averaging double-digits in all seven of his seasons as a key tertiary scorer on one of the best teams of all time.

A title or two might’ve vaulted Hornacek to the top spot on this list, but his career remains exemplary for someone picked in the 40s. His 20.1 points per game in 1991-92 is a record that still stands for players picked either 46th or 47th overall, and it might be a while before that falls.

1. Paul Millsap (No. 47, 2006)

In a sport that is getting smaller every year and placing less of an emphasis on old-school post play, Millsap continues to make his mark as one of the more wily, effective power forwards in the game. Because he’s been in the league so long, it’s easy to forget how dominant Millsap was in his prime.

Millsap’s 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game averages were buoyed by a seven-year stint with the Jazz, as he, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, and Deron Williams were at the helm of some teams that consistently found themselves in the postseason.

Millsap’s four years in Atlanta were just as productive. He was named an All-Star in four seasons on the bounce, and he helped the Hawks earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2014-15 on the back of his play.

Millsap might not end up in the Hall of Fame, but he came into the league promised nothing, and he molded a solid gold career. If the Raptors are able to draft someone of Millsap’s caliber in this class, it will be regarded as a massive success.