NEW YORK, NY, June 16, 2004 --With the June 24th NBA Draft upcoming, the New York Knicks are approaching the annual rookie process with a tact different than most of the other teams in the league. The Knicks do not have a first-round selection after trading their 2004 pick to Phoenix as part of the deal that brought Stephon Marbury, Anfernee Hardaway, and Cezary Trybanski to New York. While their remaining pick (#43) does not seem to be a great position, history has shown that several players drafted at this spot have made significant impacts in their NBA careers. The 43rd pick has uncovered some very good players in recent history, such as Michael Redd, Eric Snow, and Stephen Jackson. Last year’s 43rd selection, Keith Bogans, started 36 games for the Orlando Magic. In fact, players drafted at #43 combined to start more games (299) in the 2003-2004 season than any other pick in the second-round. Second best was the #31 selection with 152 games started. Looking beyond recent history reveals the selection of many solid players taken at the 43rd spot in the NBA Draft. Here are the top-10 #43 selections of all-time.
Redd has blossomed into an all-star this season. Playing in just six games as a rookie with the Milwaukee Bucks, Redd has developed into one of the best outside shooters in the league. Redd became the Bucks starting guard and top scorer after Ray Allen was traded to the Seattle Supersonics in 2002-03 season. His 21.7 points per game this season ranked 10th highest in the league. Redd is being considered as a possible addition to the US Olympic Basketball team in Athens this summer.
1979
2. Johnny Moore
Moore played nine seasons with the San Antonio Spurs between 1980 and 1990. As the all-time Spurs career assist leader with 3,865, he started at point guard for many of the Spurs playoff teams in the early 1980s. Only Magic Johnson and New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas recorded more assists than Moore did from 1981-1985. His career was shortened after he contracted a rare type of meningitis, called Desert Fever. Moore’s number, 00, was just the third number retired by the Spurs.
Snow has continued to improve throughout his nine-year NBA career. Since being traded to Philadelphia for two second-round picks in 1995, Snow has become one of the steadiest point guards in the league. He is considered both one of the best defensive point guards in the NBA and a very capable ball-handler, averaging 6.9 assists per game and just 2.3 turnovers per game since becoming the starting point guard for the 76ers six years ago.
Jackson made his NBA debut with the New Jersey Nets in 2000, three years after the Phoenix Suns selected him. Jackson signed with the San Antonio Spurs in 2001 and later started at small forward for their 2002-03 championship team. Jackson had his breakout season this year with the Atlanta Hawks, his third team in four years. Jackson’s 24 points per game after the all-star break was the sixth highest average of any player in the league.
1969
5. Fred Carter
After helping the Baltimore Bullets win the Central division in 1963 in just his second season, Carter returned to his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers. He immediately became one of the team’s best players. As a scoring guard, Carter finished in the top twenty-five in scoring in the league from 1972 to 1975 and led the Philadelphia 76ers in scoring in three of those seasons (‘72-‘74). Carter also learned to distribute the ball as he finished 12th in assists in the league in the 1973-74 season.
Brown is the definition of a journeyman, playing for twelve teams in his thirteen year NBA career. However he played an important role as a backup swingman on five different playoff teams. Brown’s best seasons were with the Houston Rockets from 1994-1996, when he came off the bench to help win a championship in ‘94-‘95.
Another career journeyman, Massenburg has played for fourteen teams in twelve years. A strong interior presence, Massenburg has averaged 6.5 points per game on 47% field goal shooting. This season he played an important role for Sacramento, filling the void at power forward left by an injured Chris Webber.
1992
8. Predrag Danilovic
The Yugoslavian-born Danilovic played just two seasons in the NBA, but it was his career after the NBA that was memorable. Danilovic was a scorer, averaging 12.8 points per game in his two-year career with the Miami Heat. He returned home to his native Yugoslavia to play for Partizan Belgrade, one of the best teams in Europe. He is the only Yugoslavian player to have won four European championships.
After a one-year hiatus in Italy, Nailon returned to the Charlotte Hornets, the team that drafted him, in 2000. In his second season with the team, he made a name for himself, averaging nearly eleven points in just twenty-four minutes per game. Since leaving Charlotte in 2001, he has played for four teams in the past two seasons, but he appears to have found a home in Cleveland under former Charlotte head coach Paul Silas.
While just a rookie, Bogans played a valuable role for the Orlando Magic. Bogans steadily improved over the season, averaging almost eight points per game on 40% shooting from the field over the last four months. Not just a shooter alone, he is an aggressive defensive player. He figures to compete for a starting role opposite Tracy McGrady.
