Pistons draft: Why fans should feel optimistic about the 5th pick

The Detroit Pistons have the 5th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after coming into the lottery with the third-worst record. Many people were disappointed by this, but there is a silver lining. There have been numerous Hall of Famers and NBA stars drafted with the 5th pick. The Pistons are hoping history will repeat itself.

Pistons draft: Hall of Famers drafted 5th Overall

There have been nine 5th overall picks inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame. Several of these players have also been included in top 5 all-time lists at their positions. Here is a list of these HOF’ers:

1. Dwyane Wade
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Scottie Pippen
4. Charles Barkley
5. Ray Allen
6. Walt Frazier
7. Frank Ramsey
8. Sidney Moncrief
9. Mitch Richmond

There Have Been 25 [other] NBA stars drafted 5th Overall.

1. DeMarcus Cousins
2. Jeff Mullins
3. Kendall Gill
4. Kevin Love
5. Mike Miller
6. Trae Young
7. Raymond Felton
8. Jack Marin
9. “Jumpin Johnny” Green
10. Darryl Dawkins
11. Isaiah Rider
12. Walter Davis
13. Bobby Jones
14. Purvis Short
15. LaSalle Thompson
16. Jason Richardson
17. Ricky Rubio
18. Jonas Valanciunas
19. LaPhonso Ellis
20. Juwan Howard
21. Wayne Hightower
22. Lee Shaffer
23. Larry Cannon
24. Sam Lacey
25. Larry Foust

As you can see, some of the best players to ever enter the league were drafted 5th. It’s a special draft spot that has yielded great players and changed the course of NBA history. If the Bulls had picked 6th or later they might have never paired Pippen with MJ.

Also, if the Heat hadn’t landed the 5th spot LeBron, Wade, Shaq, and Bosh would all have vastly different legacies. Just as the first overall pick doesn’t guarantee success, the 5th overall pick doesn’t mean you can’t land a superstar.

The only thing you can do is scout, and hope for a good return and so far Troy Weaver has been very good at this, landing three All-Rookie players in the last two seasons. This is especially true in a draft that does not have a consensus number one player, as most experts can barely agree on a top three.

There is a good chance that the best player in the 2022 NBA Draft will not be taken with a top-3 pick, and the Detroit Pistons are hoping that the next Charles Barkley or Scottie Pippen lands in their laps.