The NBA draft is Thursday starting at 5 PM Mountain Time. The Denver Nuggets, assuming they don’t trade up or down, will select at number 7. At that spot in past drafts, there have been NBA Hall Of Famers, NBA champions, and NBA busts.
In 1985 Chris Mullin was drafted by the Golden State Warriors. He had a successful NBA career, playing 16 seasons, 13 of those years with Golden State. Mullin ended his career with 18.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He made the NBA All-Star Team five times and helped Team USA to two gold medals. Mullin was enshrined into the Basketball Hall Of Fame in 2011.
Luc Longley was originally selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1991. Most NBA fans remember him winning championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was on the Bulls team that won three NBA Championships from 1996-1998.
Two recent NBA champions were drafted 7th overall by the Golden State Warriors. One of them is best three-point shooter in the game today. It’s hard to believe that back in 2009, six players went ahead of Stephen Curry. He went on to have a flourishing NBA career to this point. He was named MVP of the regular season and guided the Golden State Warriors to the NBA Championship this year. He couldn’t have done it without Harrison Barnes who in 2012 was also chosen 7th by Golden State.
There was one bust at number 7. In 1993 the Sacramento Kings picked Bobby Hurley out of Duke. He played under Mike Krzyzewski where he was a two time Final Four champion. The Kings hoped he would help their franchise. He only played 6 NBA seasons, 5 of them with the Kings. He never played a full NBA season. The closest he came was in 1996 where he appeared in 72 games. Hurley didn’t pan out in the NBA. In his rookie season he was involved in a car crash and was critically injured. His injuries included two collapsed lungs, several broken ribs and other head, neck and back injuries; which caused him to miss the next 63 games. He would return to the court and play 5 more years. He was only on one NBA playoff team in 1996. The Kings lost to Seattle 3 games to 1 in the first round.
The Denver Nuggets might pick a player who could be the future of the franchise. If the Nuggets stay at number 7 there are two players to select. These include shooting guard Mario Hezonja, out of Croatia or center Willie Cauley Stein who played at Kentucky. The Nuggets should select the best player who will help the team. We will find out on Thursday what the Nuggets are going to do with the 7th pick.
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