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Detroit Pistons draft: How often do teams hit with the 5th pick?

By Aaron Kellerstrass

10 Jul 1996: Forward Scottie Pippen, left, of Dream Team III during the singing of the national anthems as teammates Charles Barkley, center, and David Robinson stand by -Getty Images
10 Jul 1996: Forward Scottie Pippen, left, of Dream Team III during the singing of the national anthems as teammates Charles Barkley, center, and David Robinson stand by -Getty Images /
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The Detroit Pistons landed the 5th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, a disappointing result, but they still hope to find an impact player.

This draft seems to be more of a crapshoot than usual, as there is barely a consensus top-3 and no one can agree who the top guy is.

This will hopefully be one of those years when the best player slips through the cracks, allowing the Pistons to get a star with the 5th pick.

But how often has that happened?

I looked at every NBA Draft in what I would call the “modern era” of basketball. You can argue about when this actually is, but I used 1979, the year Magic Johnson and Larry Bird joined the league, as my starting point.

Cade Cunningham and teammates soaking up the playoff atmosphere. light. Related Story

There were certainly great players before that, but for the sake of argument, I am going to start there.

In 43 NBA Drafts, there have been a huge number of busts taken with the 5th pick, but there have also been 16 impact players, some All-Time greats and one MVP.

Detroit Pistons draft: Best players taken with the 5th pick in the NBA Draft

Here are the 16 best players taken with the 5th pick in chronological order:

  • Charles Barkley (MVP)
  • Scottie Pippen
  • Mitch Richmond
  • Steve Smith (Michigan St.)
  • Juwan Howard (wasn’t an NBA great but had a solid career)
  • Kevin Garnett
  • Ray Allen
  • Vince Carter
  • Dwyane Wade (sigh)
  • Kevin Love
  • Ricky Rubio (again, not a great but a very good career)
  • Boogie Cousins (flamed out, but was unbelievably talented and still playing)
  • Jonas Valanciunas
  • De’Aaron Fox
  • Trae Young
  • Darius Garland

As you can see, there have been a surprising number of star players taken with the 5th pick and you could form a team from them that could compete with anyone. Approximately 37 percent of 5th picks in the modern era have become some level of star, though you could certainly argue those semantics with a few names on the list.

Of course, that means stars were not found 63 percent of the time, but fans of the Detroit Pistons are hoping Troy Weaver can buck the odds and add his guy to the list of stars.

Next. 5 options for the 5th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. dark

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