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Toronto Raptors: Top 20 No. 13 overall picks in NBA Draft history

By Mike Luciano

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 7: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes up against DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 7: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes up against DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Raptors have been handed the No. 13 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. With the Raptors fresh off a very disappointing season, some fans might be a bit disappointed that Toronto has to pick so late in the draft with a generational prospect at the top of the order.

However, as history has proven, the No. 13 pick can be used to add a legitimate game-changer to the mix. Multiple Hall of Fame players have been picked No. 13 overall, and several players who could be on a Hall of Fame trajectory have also been brought into the league in this area.

These 20 players all stand out as the best players in league history that were picked in this range. The Raptors would have a well above-average, even elite, draft if they can add a player that eventually supplants one of the names on this list.

Toronto Raptors: Top 20 No. 13 draft picks of all time

20. Loy Vaught (1990)

In the best three-year stretch of a productive 11-year career, Vaught averaged 16.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, Vaught’s rebounding talents and interior finishing were often wasted on the 90s Clippers, which were unwatchable dreck, even for Clippers’ standards.

Vaught finished with 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in his career, making over 50% of his shots for his career. One has to wonder how much of a household name Vaught could have been if he didn’t waste away on some of the worst teams of the last few decades.

19. Danny Schayes (1981)

The son of all-time great power forward Dolph Schayes, the younger Schayes averaged 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for his career. What makes his career impressive, however, is the sheer length and how long he was able to be a reliable big man for so long.

In an 18-year career, Schayes got his start on the Adrian Dantley-led Jazz, thrived with Alex English and those exciting 1980s Nuggets teams, and eventually helped Del Harris and the Bucks make it to the postseason in the next decade. Never a tremendous athlete, Schayes was as reliable as the day is long.