Late-round selections often vanish into obscurity, but history proves pick 53 can yield Sixth Man legends and championship spark plugs if the Rockets strike gold tonight.
It’s understandable for fans of Houston Rockets to not be throwing watch parties for this upcoming draft. The most exciting night just came to an end and their team didn’t have any picks. That doesn’t mean tonight can’t still be super impactful though.
Picks at the end of the draft can pop in unexpected ways. Just look at Mr. Irrelevant turning into King of the Fourth Quarter with Isaiah Thomas. Or Manu Ginobili getting drafted 57th overall and helping San Antonio win four titles.
After already covering the history of the 39th overall pick here on Roundtable, I’d like to do the same for Houston’s 53rd pick later this evening.
Being at the end of the draft, the success rate is much lower. In order to find the best player, we have to go all the way back to 1988 where the Portland Trailblazers selected Anthony Mason.
He didn’t actually play until a few years later, but he would go on to be the 1995 Sixth Man of the Year with the New York Knicks. A solid decade plus in the league made him a memorable name, even for someone like me who never watched him play.
JD Davison, Jaylen Clark, Cam Spencer, and Charles Bassey are unfortunately the only names that really ring any bells in the last quarter century though. And I might forget about them in the next five years.
We got a nice Rasual Butler sighting in 2002, but that’s about it for the 53rd pick, as seen on StatMuse. No surprise at all, but maybe the Rockets can knock this one out of the park with some luck.
